Lift Me Up
by Jouaient
Summary: Sakura never liked her job as a hotel security guard. But when she discovered the strange things people do in lifts, it was pure entertainment. That is, until a raven haired man stepped into one of the elevators. SasuSaku.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** My first Naruto fic. :) I hope you'll like it

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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**Prologue**

When God created Sakura, he made her perfect. She was a true work of art – a crystal stair, so clean and so flawless. A blooming flower would shy away in the presence of her beauty, a vicious porcupine would turn soft with a touch of her kindness, and the deep, dark universe would cower at the depth of her wisdom. It's been a while since God had felt such pride for one of his creations, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Soon, God began to worry: yes, Sakura was perfect, but she was _too_ perfect. On the one hand, it wouldn't be fair for the others. On the other hand, Sakura would suffer in a world where she would be surrounded by hatred, jealousy, and betrayal. And so, God sat down in his mighty futon couch and started to think. Why, of course! Sakura needed _flaws_.

Excited about his brilliant idea, God grabbed the tools. He hesitated; her face, it was too beautiful. Sighing, God pointed at her forehead. In the matter of seconds, it became wider and larger. Well, it wasn't _that_ bad. Some people would still find it cute.

A muscle near his left eye twitched. Adding flaws, it was like eating those strange Lay's® chips – one is never enough. Oops, and there goes her flowing long hair. Maybe its color should be changed. Pink? Wonderful, nobody likes pink. Although it kind of suited her green eyes, people wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

God scratched his head. He had already taken out a few inches of her height and shrunken her breasts; there would be too much dignity in her to get a scary boob job. What else could be done? Big feet would be too mean. God tapped his celestial chin as he examined Sakura once again. He nodded with satisfaction. With the flaws, she seemed even more perfect – more normal and more approachable. A bright future lay ahead of the girl, and to get there, God needed to fill in her "past."

He began with her childhood. Born on the 28th of March, Sakura would enter the human world surrounded by gorgeous cherry blossoms, hence her name – perhaps her mother would go into labor during the picnic where she was enjoying the flowers with Sakura's father. She would grow up in an upper-middle class family with no siblings and no pets. Her parents would treat her strictly and except her to act like a daughter from a wealthy home. She was sent to a private and prestigious kindergarten; her outgoing personality wouldn't rear its pretty head until Yamanaka Ino, her potential best friend, protected her from the forehead-size-teasing bullies.

That was how her on-and-off friendship with Ino came to be. They wouldn't separate, except during their fights, until college. Sakura's life took a down turn when her college entrance test results were swapped with someone else's – the scores were not good. Tired of trying to prove the glitch, Sakura moved away and escaped her parents' disappointment. She graduated from her college with the top grades; the school officials wondered how a smart student like her ended up in their university. Sakura would ponder about whether it was luck that caused her to stray from the top schools, thought it was God who had laid out the wooden planks for her to cross the river of life on. She enjoyed the city where she studied at so much that she considered her possible job options there.

The idea of becoming a nurse took up 4/5 of Sakura's mind for a period of time, but ever since she beat up the poor fool who tried to rob flowers for his girlfriend from the floral shop Ino worked at, the thought of becoming a police woman started to swim around her brain. Ino jokingly suggested the position of a security guard before going for the police force, and Sakura sent a job application straight to a hotel.

Grinning in his divineness, God cracked his knuckles. He picked up his other prized creation and set him next to Sakura – perfect could not get any more perfect. And _that_ is where the story begins.

But first – God took out his viewing board, picked up Sakura, and pointed her at a happy newly-wed couple who were ready to get in the limousine.

"Now, go get busy."

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**A/N: **That was a really short prologue, and this story's going to have a very slow start so...bear with me please! Hehe, I would be a happy little person if you would review.


	2. Chapter 1

**Dislaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

_So, here's the first chapter! Mm, I hope you'll like it, but before that, I have a tiny little "joke." Hehe, it's not really the lol type, but I thought it was very sweet._

-What kind of ship never sinks?

- Friendship.

_ That made me go "awww" for like 10 minutes. Anyway, have fun reading! Don't forget to review_

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**Chapter 1  
**

"Sweetie, come back!" the voice of a frantic mother came through the speaker. Sakura moved her finger off the red button, and the room fell silent. She watched the woman chase her son down the hallway of the third floor; a sad smile wiggled its way onto her face. Nostalgia – sometimes it's the best thing in the world, but other times not so much. The times that her mom spent running after her in hallways replayed in her mind. Flashes of her past were getting comfortable with her ever since she got the job of a hotel security guard. Each day in the two months that she had been working, she witnessed different clips of people's lives, and often they reminded her of her own.

Sakura leaned back on her leather rolling chair and sighed. She missed when she could patrol around the hotel and get up close and personal with the issues of the guests: old drunk business men with their big bellies and blond chicks in their arms coming back well after midnight, the married wives that explode and hit their greedy husbands with their designer bags, confused grannies searching for their Chihuahuas – who would avoid a hotel that allowed animals? And then there were the happy tourists, who were fascinated by things, especially getting lost. She skimmed through the five million camera screens in front of her and fixed her eyes upon the one that showed the Employee Break Lounge. Her boss, the head of the security department, Kankuro, seemed to be flirting with the receptionist. Again.

The man never took breaks, unless it was to "socialize." Sakura shook her head and pressed the red button to hear what the conversation was about.

"– And on the 8th day, God created coffee," he was saying as he saluted his coffee cup at the brunette in front of him. The receptionist stared at him.

"I don't really like coffee," she said at the speed of a crawling snail. Kankuro coughed and cleared his throat.

The two of them turned away from each other. Kankuro ripped open a sack of sugar and poured its contents into the cup; the receptionist got some orange juice and left the room.

Sakura laughed. People were so silly. She wanted to be a part of the silliness, but she couldn't, or else, as Kankuro often warned, her paycheck "would starve." She checked her watch – five minutes until her lunch break, her salvation, her only chance to participate in the silliness before going home. Sakura grabbed her keys and bag and started for the door. After locking up, she walked down the corridor towards the elevators. It seemed to have taken years for the lift to reach the 75th floor; the ping of the elevator arriving was the true sound of enlightenment.

She stepped in and pressed the "1" button. _And now I wait,_ she thought, looking up. She examined the ceiling for potentially dangerous items and noticed a tiny little spot in the corner. "What the –?" It was a camera. There was a camera in the elevator. It was almost like having a camera in the bathroom – invasion of privacy. A need to check out the screens of the cameras in the lifts was stirring within her. Sakura was about to go back up when her cell phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, hey, yeah, I – what? I know, but – already on my way, woman. Mmhmm, see you in a bit."

_Thank God for Ino._

--

"Hello and welcome to The Leaf," an apathetic teenage waitress with a unique taste in make-up said and handed Sakura a menu as she entered the diner. "It sounds vegetarian, but it's not. Enjoy."

"Doesn't she know that everyone that comes here has memorized this thing by heart?" Sakura asked as she sat down across from Ino. She put the menu at the corner of the table.

"Ugh, I know. She's a newbie – you know, it felt so weird to hold an actual menu," Ino said, twirling her straw around in her ice tea. "It's appalling that someone who works here doesn't know me."

"It's appalling to you when any person doesn't know who you are," Sakura rolled her eyes. She looked at the counter and saw a young man scribbling away on abandoned receipts. "Naruto! Serve me, if you will."

"Well, if it isn't Sakura, the girl who took my food-serving virginity," Naruto smiled and approached the two of them.

"Wow, Naruto. You just revolutionized humor."

"Ino, is there really a need to flaunt the 5 you got in AP Sarcasm?"

"Yes, Sakura, there is."

"I'm actually pretty smart too," Naruto popped in. "What would you like today? The usual?"

"If you were that smart, you'd know the answer," said Ino, taking a sip from her drink.

"In Ino-language, that's a 'yes.'"

"Don't worry, Sakura, she just hates me because I'm blond."

"Extra, extra, read all about it – _I _am blond too."

"So, Ino," Sakura began as Naruto left to give the order to the kitchen. "I'm so glad that you're here today. I thought that you had something to do at the flower shop."

"I did, but I was depressed, and I needed to get away."

"Why were you depressed?"

"Okay," Ino took a deep breath. For suspense, probably. Very high-school-esque. "Today, this ridiculously good-looking guy came in and he got flowers."

"That is amazing. And yeah, I can see a bit of sadness in there."

Ino stuck her tongue out. "_Anyways_, it turned out that the flowers were for his fiancée."

"I take that back. It's tragic." A part of her meant it.

"Isn't it?

"Seriously though – you thought that a gorgeous guy came into your store to buy flowers and then he would _give_ them to you?"

"Mankind has been up to the moon, and that was in the 60's. Anything is possible."

"In your awesome little Ino-land, I guess."

"You should move there," Ino said in a serious manner. "But think about it. Wouldn't it have been romantic? A great guy, flowers from my own shop…"

"The perfect chick flick," Sakura nodded as she smiled to thank the waiter who brought their food. "Maybe I should tip that one guy who you're seeing off. What's his name? Steve?"

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled in the softest way she could.

"No need to be defensive," Sakura said and pointed at her lunch. "Eat."

"I think being locked up in that dreaded room with barely any human contact has turned you bitter."

"I agree."

"And I am _not_ dating Shikamaru. God. That damn pineapple head."

"God. Whatever you say."

"You drive me _crazy,_" Ino groaned and stabbed her fork in the Lasagna.

"Aw, that's sweet," Sakura giggled. She looked out the large window and sighed at the sight of Le Grand Hotel. The Leaf's tiny form was floating in a wild sea of skyscrapers, like how she was buffeted in the tsunami of life. If Sakura was in a helicopter up above the town, she would notice the little diner. She was a real observant person; Ino often complained about Sakura revealing her purposely well-hidden zits. Thanks to her great vision she was able to see that near-invisible camera in the elevator. _The camera…_ she mused. Sakura looked back at the hotel and felt the strange urge to go back to work.

"Ino, that place is summoning me," she whispered and looked at her friend in panic. "Talk to me, keep me entertained. Let's _bond._"

"Oh, sorry, I can't," Ino said. The girl could be really sympathetic if she wanted to. "I have to finish up fast – I would love to catch up with you, but this guy who's holding a wedding wants to discuss the choice of flowers at around one, and I need to get back to make sure that I actually have everything."

"Now _there's _a romantic story in the making," Sakura snapped her fingers. "The guy meets you and is stunned by your beauty and your gift with flowers and falls in love with you when it was supposed to be strictly business. You'll be stealing a guy from his fiancée."

"That's _cruel._"

"Not if it's for love," Sakura said and spread her arms out like a drama queen. "And besides, you seem to have a special thing going on with engaged men."

"Please don't allude to this morning," said Ino with misery.

"Oh, you," Sakura smiled. She gulped down the last bit of her food and gathered her things. "I'm going to go now."

"Be extra careful!"

"Yes, ma'am," she waved. "Bye, Naruto, see you tomorrow."

Sakura held her breath. She pushed the door out of her way and strode onto the sidewalk; the warm sun still dazzled her and the rest of the world despite the smog. When the little green man of the traffic light lit up, Sakura let go of the breath – it was time to return to reality.

--

_Three messages, all in the time when I was out to lunch…I must be popular today,_ Sakura thought when she saw the flashing "3" on her answer machine. She glanced around her dark office – still the same. It had its crime investigation scene aura on. If Sakura was allowed, she would have a movie on in each screen.

"You have three messages," the machine played. "Message 1:

"Miss Haruno, I hope you have a good reason for not being at your proper station. You should know that most crimes happen during breaks, especially lunch breaks, when culprits and villains believe that the security has let its guard down. Contact me immediately after you've received this thing."

_Che, "villains,"_ Sakura snorted as she reached for her back pocket. It was empty. _Oh crap…_

"Message 2," the machine went on. "Hey, Sakura, it's me, Ino. Before I start rambling about something else – Naruto, _no!_ Put that _down_ – sorry, I got him to come help me at the shop. Um, so, I have your walkie-talkie –"

_Oh my God, I didn't lose it!_

"– I never knew you had one. It's _very_ cool. As I was saying, I'll give it back to you after I finish work. You don't mind that, do you? If you're desperate, call me. But I'd prefer you not to, because, you know, I'd be busy seducing an almost married man like you suggested. _Naruto! _They're _flowers_, not basketballs! Ugh, sorry, Sakura. I'm gonna go, call me, okay?

"Message 3:

"Sakura, it's me again. My client – that sounds kind of wrong – still isn't here. I can't believe _you_ still haven't replied my message. It takes, what, five minutes to get back? It's been almost an hour since I last saw you…Sakura, I'm bored. I'll ramble until the man comes. No, Naruto, I will not talk to you –"

Sakura raised a finger, aiming at the delete button.

"– Oh! I see someone. He's coming this way. Looks like I won't have to recite the symbol of each and every flower out there – Shikamaru…? – _beep, beep, beep_

"No more messages."

She stared at the phone. Shikamaru was the man who was choosing the flowers for the wedding? Sakura wondered why exciting twists didn't happen in her life. Maybe one day an actor, a famous and hot actor, would stumble in thinking that her room was _really_ a set for a scene in a crime movie. Ah, dreams. She picked up her phone and dialed Ino's number. _Her_ machine picked up.

"Ino, this is Sakura's ghost speaking. Sakura got killed, that's why she's not returning your calls. Just kidding. I was helping Mrs. Ripley, this lady at the hotel, find her Yorkie. I swear it's the fifth time this week. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'm fine with the walkie-talkie thing. It's not like my boss will kill me if he finds out that I don't have it. Well, call me if you need anymore drama in your life. Love you!"

She put down the phone and her eyes fell on to the screens of the elevators. Like an eagle that just spotted a bunny, she zipped to the screens and stared, hoping that someone would enter one of them. The ping of heaven sounded a few moments after Sakura pressed the read button under the screen of Elevator A.

A large ball of brown rolled in. It was no ordinary shade of brown; it was the type of brown that adorned the expensive fur coats filthy rich women wore. Sakura grabbed her remote and zoomed in. There, in the elevator going from the 9th floor to the 61st floor, stood one of the wealthy middle-aged ladies she imagined would own a brown fur coat. In her arms was a frightened little cat that had a ribbon tied on its ear. The fact that she was wearing a coat made out of animal hair and that she was cuddling the soul out of a cat raised Sakura's eyebrows. Irony – it's everywhere, isn't it?

"Tora, _baby_, don't you _ever_ run away like that again," the lady was crooning, her chubby fingers poking at the poor cat's nose. _When woman don't have children,_ Sakura gulped. "Do you hear me? I was so w-AHH!"

Sakura jumped up. The lights in the elevator flashed a couple times before stabling again; the woman was now curled in a corner – the lift had broken down. "Oh no, please no…" she covered her mouth with her hands in shock. She shook her head and pounced for the green button next to the red one.

"Ma'am? I want you to calm down – I'm going to call the staff, a-and everything's going to be okay," said Sakura through the mike. "Ma'am? Why aren't you calming down?"

She glanced down at the button. After several other tries at speaking to the frightened guest, she realized that the elevator wasn't the only thing that was broken. _Crap, I need my walkie-talkie. _

--

"What do you mean you can't fix the mike?" Sakura raised her voice at her telephone.

"Miss Haruno, our main priority right now is to _save_ Madam Shijimi," Kankuro's suddenly more annoying voice attacked her ear. "Dividing up the team to fix the mike to one of the elevators will just slow that process down. Come to my office after the madam is out and we can arrange something."

"I can't believe you! Is this because I don't have my talkie with me?"

"You _lost_ it, Miss Haruno. It was your responsibility –"

"I told you, my friend has it. The one you tried to hit on, remember?"

"Sorry to say but I don't. I have to go now," Kankuro concluded and hung up.

Sakura sighed and plopped down in her chair. The woman was pounding on the elevator door. She fell to her knees and looked up; she was probably praying. Sakura didn't feel like numbing her finger by pressing the red button too long. It was like watching a silent movie. The entertainment factor of her job was crossing over to the good side, where it avoided before due to the lack of cookies. "How sadistic I've become," Sakura rubbed her temples and sighed.

She sat, curled up in the leather rolling chair, and watched the doors of the lift being forced open. She watched Madam Shijimi bounced up and down with joy. Almost unconsciously, Sakura reached for the red button. The happiness flowed out of the speaker like a melody, and another smile wiggled onto her face – this time, it was a relieved one.

_This is an amazing job,_ she thought, her heart gloating. What could be more exciting than stalking people in the elevator?

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**Author's Note:** Aiyaya, of course there are things that are more exciting ;D

Reviewing would make me very, um, elated.

Thanks _Naruto8ramen_, _Sailor Vampire_, and _Vanity-chan_


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Chapter 2**

Twelve angry men – and a woman – were in the meeting room. _Are we even allowed to be in here? _Sakura wondered as she stared at her intense colleagues. Kankuro took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Well, intense was somewhat of an understatement.

"Sir, would you like me to lower the temperature of the AC?" she asked.

"Please do; I had no idea the thing was turned on," said Kankuro. Sakura got up and walked to the switch while her boss continued on, "Gentlemen, and, uh, _Miss_ Haruno –" she scowled "– I have some important news to announce."

"Now, as you all know, Macs Inc. will be holding its 60th anniversary celebration here in a few days. My job is riding on the success of this event," he chuckled; nobody else laughed. "Uh, right…just keep in mind that it is _very_ important."

"And the connection between the party and our department is –?" questioned one of the officers.

"Moron, we need to make sure no psychos come dancin' in," another officer mocked.

"Aren't we supposed to do that every single day?" the first man retorted.

"That's exactly right, _but_ the police will be doing that with us on the day of the celebration," Kankuro cut in." Our primary 'use' in all this is to watch the actions of a certain man."

Sakura took her seat and narrowed her eyes with interest. Kankuro threw a file on to the table and slammed his palm on it. "This," he said as he took a picture out of the folder, "is him – pass it around, please."

"I've seen him somewhere…"

"Yeah, me too. The eyes seem especially familiar – here."

"Yikes."

"Looks like trouble," said the person next to Sakura while handing the picture to her. It was a middle-aged man with gray hair and wild, dark sideburns. He _did _look like bad news. One of his eyes was green and the other was blue. Color contacts – even the nasty guys used them.

"His name is Bob Herris," said Kankuro. _What a name,_ Sakura thought. Many guards in the room started mumbling. "He's been suspected of running several parts of the black market, some chains of drug trafficking, and other terrible things."

"There are rumors that he was behind the big robbery last year."

"And that train explosion –"

"But in the end, they are just rumors," Kankuro said. "It's quite obvious he's a part of the mafia."

"It seems like he owns it," said Sakura.

"We can't assume anything, Miss Haruno. The only thing we _can_ do is to carefully watch his every move. A lot of big figures will be at the celebration, including Lady Tsunade."

"Where is he staying, sir?"

"Room 91A; he signed in a few days ago," said Kankuro. "I will provide each of you with a key to the suite, in case of emergencies. Don't be rash. Meeting dismissed. And, uh, Miss Haruno?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to make the room so cold next time."

"You're the boss," Sakura grumbled. She was the last to leave the room; she liked to be behind everyone, to get a chance to see everything. The things people do in the back were much more scandalous. They might look happy and shiny in the front, but there's a whole different story on the other side of the coin. She walked down the corridor, sighing. The meeting room plus various other places, including the gyms, tennis courts, the ceiling party hall, were in the Y Building. The hotel rooms, restaurants and such were in the X Building. Sakura's office was also in the X. She had – how very symbolic – a long road ahead of her.

Sakura felt better when she was crossing the glass bridge between X and Y. The ground she walked on was transparent as well, making her feel like she was defying gravity. According to legend, Le Grand Hotel didn't always have two buildings. A woman founded the hotel, and the hotel was just the X Building in the beginning. The Y Building was a recreational center owned by a man. Both their offices were on the 72nd floor, and one day, when the two hermits decided to pull the curtains and let the sun shine through, they saw each other; on that day, they were also penetrated by love. The two got married and joined the two buildings by a glass bridge connecting the two 72nd floors. The bridge was supposedly clean, pure, and strong like their love. _It would suck if they got divorced,_ Sakura thought. Most people, especially those that were afraid of height, chose to cross the road. She liked the view and the silence.

She got to the other side and stopped at the elevators. At that moment, the doors opened and a trolley came out. A pretty girl with long indigo hair and light lavender eyes was pushing it. _Hotel maid,_ Sakura thought. The trolley rode over a bump and some apples fell out and rolled to Sakura's feet.

"I-I'm sorry!" the girl cried.

"It's alright, I'll get it," Sakura said. "You might want to wash them; who knows what's been on these carpets."

The girl smiled and took the apples. "Thank you," she said. Her voice was very soft.

"What's your name?"

"…Um…"

"I don't mean any harm," said Sakura. "I just thought that it'd be nice to have a friend who isn't obsessed about…rich and potentially dangerous men."

"…?"

Sakura groaned. _Social skills, may you rest in peace._

"Well, m-my name is Hinata," the girl said. She looked like she was amused. How many people can look modest and sweet when they're suppressing laughter? "Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hyuuga? You mean you're related to that pretty boy Neji?"

"P-pretty – uh, yeah, he's my cousin."

"Ugh, I'm sorry, I'm _not_ a stalker, I just – he," said Sakura as she gave herself a mental slap, "was one of the rich and potentially dangerous men, but it turns out…well –"

"I think I know what you mean," Hinata said. She checked her wristwatch – Omega, Sakura noted. "Ah, late for room service. I'll see you later?"

"You bet," Sakura smiled and waved. "Bye!"

_Rich, but working as a hotel maid…_

"You must be a very independent girl, Hinata," Sakura whispered and pressed the up button.

--

The blinding blue screens flickered before showing what they were supposed to – the hallways, the lobbies, the areas outside the bathrooms, and last but not least, the elevators. Sakura twirled around on her super rolling chair full of anticipation. No one had gone in any of the elevators yet, and no one would until half an hour later. She felt some drool ooze out of her mouth and her eyelids droop while four of her fingers were placed on the red button under each of the elevator screens. And then it happened – the ping; Sakura realized that she would never get tired of hearing it.

It was a young man who looked to be a bit older than her. _Hold on,_ she thought as she leaned forward. _Hyuuga Neji?_ She zoomed in on the rich and potentially dangerous man who was reaching for the "78" button. _Are those flowers?_ She gaped at the colorful mass in his hands.

Out of curiosity, Sakura pressed the red button. She watched – and heard – the man let out a large breath of air. He was nervous about something.

He lifted the bouquet up in front of him and stared with sincerity at an invisible audience. "Tenten, as weird as this might seem –" _Tell me about it, _Sakura pursed her lips "– I just wanted to say," he paused and cleared his throat, "happy anniversary."

Sakura smiled. _Who knew?_

The elevator was on the 67th floor. Neji looked up at the mirrored ceiling and sighed. "Five months already…"

She took her eyes off of Neji and his flowers and scanned the rest of the neglected screens; she wouldn't want them to have abandonment issues. There was an endless flow of people coming in and out of the front doors. The workers in the restaurants were playing poker – if you thought that the place was _really_ closed, think again. Most of the corridors were vacant, peaceful, and clean. _Most _of them. The souvenir shop which is connected to the cake store that leads to one of the cafés had, for once, hardly any people in it. What a boring, but serene, afternoon it was. That serenity was ruined when someone got in the elevator on the 78th floor after Neji got out of Elevator D.

And was he something: forest green suit, round eyes, eyelashes that actually abided to the Universal Law of Gravitation – très saggy, a shiny bowl cut, and a pair of bushy brows. Bushy was a nice way to put it. The man spun around five times and, with his eyes closed, hit a button while Sakura's finger found its way to the red one.

"Yes! B1! Just the floor I wanted to go to!" he shouted. With both fists clenched, he bounced up and down.

_Kankuro, I think I found the reason for the elevator malfunction yesterday,_ Sakura thought. _He's back to ruin the other elevators too? _

The man paused in his jumping when he, like Neji, looked up at the ceiling. His eyes flared up and Sakura shrank into her chair. Maybe Kankuro wasn't that intense after all. "I, Rock Lee, will touch the top!" he bent his knees, ready to spring up.

Lee leapt again and again, trying to get to the ceiling. It was a tall elevator; the hotel couldn't exactly predict the heights of their guests. Sakura was sneering at him, but only for a while. The lift was going down past the 19th floor, and he was still trying. There was just something about people who set goals, no matter how simple, and go crazy- not necessarily in a bad way – achieving it. Sakura admired them; she admired him, as ridiculous as he might have seemed. She rooted for him on the inside.

The elevator had reached B1. Lee was sweating and panting; Sakura thought that it was the end of the little adventure, but to her dismay, instead of stepping out, Lee stayed in and pressed for the highest floor – 101.

She laid her forehead down on the cold table. _I need a break._

Sakura put the walkie-talkie next to her mouth. She got her "baby" back the day before, not from Ino, but from the lady at the lost and found counter. "Lost…" she grumbled.

"Boss," she said into the tiny machine. "May I please be excused to get some food down at the café?"

She winced at the cackling noise. "Fine, but make sure it is done quickly," Kankuro's bitter voice sounded.

_Someone's in a good mood today,_ Sakura shrugged.

--

The elevator stopped and opened. She frowned a bit when she heard a couple thumps. When the doors opened, her eyes bulged out. "Uh – I, um, h-hello," Rock Lee said. He was _still_ trying to reach the ceiling?

"Hi," Sakura said and entered; the doors shut soon after she pressed "1." If anything made the situation more awkward, it was the new elevator music. _So _that's_ what the repair team was busy doing instead of fixing my mikes,_ Sakura crossed her arms.

It was interesting seeing Lee up close instead of on a screen.

"Hot in here, isn't it?" she asked, indicating at the trickles of perspiration on his cheek.

Lee laughed and wiped some of his sweat off. "It's a pity that they don't have air conditioning," he fanned himself. "My youth is boiling."

"That's nice," Sakura smiled and looked down at her feet. If there really weren't any air conditioning, his youth would be vaporizing. "So, are you enjoying your stay here?"

"More than any place else," Lee nodded. "I will be performing a martial arts act at the anniversary party. My teacher is the great Master Gai."

"I'll be looking forward to see it then," said Sakura. There were ten more floors to go.

"You must be good at taijutsu yourself, Miss," said Lee, his eyes on her uniform.

"Nah, my job's much more passive."

The ding rang and she felt a swooping feeling in her stomach as the elevator stopped. "I'm going to go now," she said while stepping out.

"Go kick some butt!" Rock Lee whispered. "Oh, wait, job – _passive_," he grinned and winked with a thumb's up.

Where would the world be without optimistic people? Sakura shook her head. She stretched out her arms; it felt good to be on ground level again. The people were socializing in the lobby, talking and patting each other on the back. Some welcomed relatives and friends, helping with the luggage and shedding the occasional tear here and there. In the background were the ringing of telephones and the clicking of heels. The place was like sophisticated flea market – buzzing and full of activity. Sakura nodded at a fellow guard on her way to the café.

"A cup of hot chocolate and a dozen donuts please," Sakura tapped at the counter.

"Donuts? You're becoming more like a cop every day," the woman processing her order said.

"And you should be in your office," Sakura rolled her eyes, "Temari."

"There was a spot on the market," said Temari, hitting the enter button with force. "It's easier to observe my hotel this way, not locked up in some fancy room."

"At least yours is fancy," Sakura sighed. "Hand me the whipped cream bottle, will you?"

Temari smirked. "Getting kinky with your hot chocolate?"

"_No,_ you sick woman."

"Rude."

"You've taught me well."

"Still not good enough," Temari laughed and took out her folding fan. A shine on her hand caught Sakura's eye.

"Is that an _engagement_ ring?"

"Your donuts, Sakura," Temari thrust the bag in her hands.

"Tem –" Sakura tried to grab on to her, but she had already went into the kitchen where the deserts were freshly prepared.

--

Donuts and hot chocolate armed in her hands, she headed back to her office. The screens showed the same things they showed before she left. Sakura opened the box of donuts and took out the one with the rainbow sprinkles. It was probably the least healthy one, but hey, life was short. Strange particles of loneliness were bouncing within her, attaching themselves to her good, happy cells. She got down to her only solution – call Ino.

"Hello?" the soothing, or what she would normally consider grumpy, voice of her best friend crept out of the phone.

"Ino, it's me."

"Sakura? I have caller ID you know," she was laughing to herself. Without Sakura beside her. That just made Sakura more depressed. "You sound tired…"

"I'm eating a donut."

"…I'm not tempted."

"Wasn't trying to tempt you," Sakura felt a vein pop out. Frustration with Ino somehow always cheered her up; it took her mind off things, maybe that's why.

"Well? I haven't got all day."

"I know you don't have any customers right now."

"Oh my gosh, is that a wrinkle? Sakura, it's all your fault."

"Go stick your skinny face in a vase full of water or something."

"I'm hanging up."

Sakura smiled. "So, the thing with Shikamaru. I think I know who the bride-to-be is."

"He is not getting married, Sakura. I asked him."

"Oh…"

"You sound disappointed," Ino pointed out in a demanding voice. "Who is that woman you were talking about anyway?"

"No one. I might've been wrong."

"I am seriously going to hang up. I mean, you –"

Sakura groaned as the girl went on rambling about respect and phone call etiquette. She stole a glance at the elevator screens. They were luring her. She slowly rolled her way to the front of them in her chair. They were so pretty and exerted such dangerous and harmful rays. "Ooh, one of them is moving," Sakura breathed with suspense.

"What?"

"Nothing, Ino."

There was no one in the elevator, so it was going to get somebody. _I wonder which floor it's going to,_ Sakura thought. It was in the 80s. Something was odd. It was now on the 90th floor. _Oh no…_

91.

"Ino, _I'm_ going to have to hang up. Bye."

"Wha- _click._"

The doors slid open. Sakura bit her lip. Was it the mafia guy?

She watched a pair of fine, black leather shoes step in. Her eyes traced upward to take in the poison bit by bit. The suit was a tad too gentleman-like.

Raven hair and black eyes. Pale skin – he didn't look anywhere near weak or sickly.

Who was this man? Whoever he was, once he stepped out of the suite on the 91st floor, he was _definitely_ dangerous.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Saucekay arrives at the scene! _Finally_. Leave a review to tell me what you think. Thanks! :)


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

**Chapter 3**

It was just a bit past seven; people were most like ants at that time of day. Scurrying along the sidewalk with their briefcases, yelling into cell phones and honking in their cars, wincing and cursing when the only sun light that could shine through between the gaps of the skyscrapers hit their eyes – welcome to the cement jungle, where chaos and order held hands but wore fake smiles. Overhead, not a cloud was in sight. The sky was bluer than ever, as if it was trying to get the attention of the busy little beings down below. Even the children were too preoccupied with hoping for a car crash or two. Maybe that's why popcorn stands were set up around the street corner, to provide the Innocent Bystanders (Inc.) a source of food while they watched the drama stirred up by an accident. One man claimed that his favorite part would be when the police arrived. "It adds an ounce of spice to the whole shebang," he said.

Defeated, the sapphire sky drew its gray-cloud curtain and packed up. Its sole audience, Haruno Sakura, or the Girl who Cared™, gave it a silent applause before sighing and entering Le Grand Hotel, the most dazzling tree in the jungle. Sakura imagined the thing spreading its sneaky roots, attaching them on to other buildings, and sucking the nutrients out of them. Quiet pleasant, don't you think? Having been acquaintances with a life-sucking creature, Ino, she knew the invisible pain.

"Good morning," she greeted Kiba, her fellow guard and the only person she warned about the mystery man she saw two days ago, besides Kankuro of course.

"Hey," he waved at her in a very urgent manner. "Sorry, can't talk, gotta go to the café; my breakfast is very possessive and she can get jealous real easily."

Sakura smiled. "Well, tell her that she's very lucky to have a man like you eating her," she said and patted the big white dog beside him. Another point to the pet-allowing hotel!

"Thanks, Sakura. See you around! C'mon, Akamaru."

It was at times like that she'd wish she had a guard dog to accompany her during work. Not that she would need it, seeing as her job burns about as much calories as wrestling a piece of cabbage leaf, but it would make her feel a lot safer. In movies, the security guards who watched the cameras were usually the first to go.

_Stop being so silly,_ she shook her head clear of the worries and took a sip from her cup; as she walked on, the sound her heels made – the clear, crisp, and finger-snapping-like sound – across the elegant beige marble floor quelled any lingering malevolent thought in her mind. Sakura loved the marble floor. It was shiny, kind of like diamonds, and she could just stare at it for the longest time. If the world's hardest rock was a girl's best friend, then a floor made of marble was probably eligible to be the girl's bridesmaid.

They had marble floors in grand and august places – castles, palaces, and all that. As childish as it might seem, Sakura often fantasized about having a prince sweep her off her feet, which would be planted on the very marble floor she was walking on. Then again, fairytales weren't _really_ made for kids. Feeling rather sheepish, Sakura sniffed and took a turn to get to the elevators.

"Bwah!" she yelped as she slipped – that morning, Marble-chan wasn't very nice; that morning, the floor at the elevators was wet. Sure, it was clean, but it was destined to get dirty again, and hot coffee on a lady's clothes would be no fun at all. In face, hot anything on a lady's clothes wouldn't be the least bit of fun. Hot men, on the other hand…

"Phew," she sighed, grateful that she caught her balance in time before the deadly slip-and-fall. To prevent another threatening situation, Sakura gulped down what's left of her caffeinated goodness and threw the cup into a nearby trash can.

She pressed for one of the lifts and waited for its arrival from the 36th floor. Already impatient, Sakura decided to visit the bathroom to kill time. It was behind the doors that lead to the stairs. Once inside, Sakura was delighted to find that no one else was there; she didn't like fixing her hair in front of the mirror with another person beside her. Ino was the opposite of that. She'd kill to outshine another girl, especially if she could check herself out at the same time.

Sakura took a quick glance at her reflection and put on the security hat she was holding. It kept her pink hair up and tucked away, and it concealed half her face. Pretty much all that was left to see was the tip of her nose and a confident smile, coated with sparkling ruby lip-gloss. She smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her uniform. It consisted of a white blouse plus the company of a white skirt; both had black rims, just like her hat. Of all colors, why white? She had wondered. Kankuro's angels? Oh, God, no. It wasn't ugly – Sakura jumped with glee at the decent attire, but it made her look like a flight stewardess.

"Hello, and thank you for flying Hotel in the Air. Our destination will be Doom, because there's an evil guy who came out of an even more evil guy's suite, and did _nothing_ during his whole elevator ride," she muttered, thinking of the man with raven hair, who was quite ridiculously good looking. _It's always the good looking ones,_ she thought and adjusted her hat prior to leaving the bathroom. They just stand there, all handsome, and they kill.

Appalled to see that the elevator was making a brief stop on the 17th floor, Sakura looked to the other ones, and a plan formed in her mind: she would climb up to the ninth floor and take the elevator that was staying there. If successful, she would then have burned about as many calories as it would take to wrestle a _whole _cabbage. The idea of climbing all the way up to 75 was laughable; someone like Mr. Rock Lee would probably do it, though.

Sakura went through the doors again and began climbing the stairs. It was kind of a dusty place, seeing as how most people took the elevators, even if they stayed on the second floor. To her surprise, she heard some mumbling coming from above. It was not happy mumbling either. Instinct, and maybe sheer curiosity told her to investigate, and she took off her heels. She tried hard not to make a sound; the echoes would be terribly loud.

"-held back?" a man with a deep voice was hissing. Sakura tiptoed up a few more steps. She was at the turning that leads to the fourth floor when she saw two figures. She squatted down and hid; the only things visible were their shadows. "This mission is _paramount_ in our operation."

_A mission and an operation…_ she repeated in her head as she shifted a little, licking her lips while waiting for the other person's reply.

"And it will succeed, Mr. Uchiha," the other – a woman- said, sounding raspy and somewhat intimidated.

_Uchiha? Wh-what is going on? _Sakura was ruminating the choice of getting closer, and then the first man spoke again.

"_It_ will. _You_, however, will not."

"S-sir?"

A thud and a groan of pain followed – was the man pinning the girl on to the wall?

"Herris won't spare you," the Uchiha guy whispered, his voice still tense. _Great,_ Sakura gulped. _Mafia man is involved._ Whatever happened to young lovers meeting in the stairs because their parents didn't want them to be together?

There was a period of silence, excluding the woman's soft whimpers and the thumping of Sakura's nervous heart.

"-but I will."

Sakura widened her eyes. _Screw it,_ she thought, putting on her shoes in the quickest and quietest way, and sprinted up to where the suspense was. "How may I help you two?" she asked; the girl let out a scream and the man turned around, taking his hand off the girl's collar – the slightest inkling of shock appeared on his face and was gone the next second. Sakura gasped as she got a better look: it was the man with raven hair and the girl with the unique taste in make-up from the Leaf. "Um – is there a problem here?" she asked; when her green eyes made contact with the man's eyes, she looked away and nodded at the girl.

"Nothing," the girl shook her head. "I delivered the wrong order that he placed at the Leaf diner."

_How consistent with your conversation,_ Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Then go get the right one," she said and patted the teenager. She used and arm to act as a shield between the girl and Mr. Uchiha, whose mouth twitched a bit, as if he was going to smirk. "And sir, there is no need to get violent about food."

"Hn, forget about it then," he said and walked into the fourth floor elevator lobby through the emergency exit doors.

The girl brushed Sakura's arm off her. Sakura sighed. "I still have to escort you down to the main hall."

"Fine."

- -

"Great job, Miss Haruno," Kankuro said from his chair. They were in his office; the windows were the walls on one side of the room, making it ever so bright. Who would have thought – Kankuro, a dark creature, residing in a place full of sunshine and happiness? There was a gigantic TV, two fridges, a _bed_, a bar with a microwave, some puppets in the corner, and Sakura suspected the presence of a Jacuzzi hiding somewhere. No wonder the man never took breaks.

"But I hardly got a thing out of them."

"It shows that Bob Herris is up to something, and that the raven haired guy you saw is helping him."

"I don't know about help," Sakura muttered. "He let the girl go."

"How _kind_ of him! Shall we nominate him for the Nobel Peace prize?"

"…Very…clever, boss."

Kankuro laughed. "I know, right? The Nobel Peace prize…ahem. Seeing as you've already done so much on this," he said, "why don't I give you another project? You won't have to stay in that depressing camera room."

"Tempting, but I might miss my favorite show," Sakura said. She didn't even get to watch one person in the elevator.

"Whatever that means, Miss Haruno," Kankuro cleared his throat again and sipped some of his "apple juice."

"May I ask what the project is?"

"No. You will either take it or leave it."

_I will stop the elevator you're in one day, and make you beg for mercy, _Sakura glared at her boss.

"Well? Neither of us is growing younger."

"Tch," Sakura took a big breath. "_Alright_, I'll take it."

"Good choice, Miss Haruno," Kankuro curled his lips. He opened one of his drawers and took out a file. "Let's go over the details, shall we?"

- -

The Rosemary was the best restaurant in Le Grand Hotel. Set on the 80th floor, it overlooked most of the surrounding buildings, and the view at night was no simple beauty to describe. There are twenty tables – five for two and the rest are for four, but once ten of the tables are occupied, no extra people are allowed in. The Rosemary was also known as the only place in the hotel that didn't allow animals. With eight waiters, it offered great service, and not one guest was ever neglected. Each table held various magazines, books, and newspapers to choose from when a guest is waiting for food. Attached to each chair was an iPod with a fresh pair of earphones and a multifarious music library to appeal to all types of guests.

The tables have a distance of three meters in between each other, blessing the people with privacy, tranquility, and space; they will have plenty of stretching room while ordering their meal as well. Though expensive, the level and taste of its culinary goods were beyond compare. The recipes were created for the mouths of the richest, and the owner plans to keep it that way. That day, however, The Rosemary's tightly shut gates were open to a woman who was not quite rich – Haruno Sakura.

_I can't believe this_, she thought as she paged at her surroundings. She was in The Rosemary, a place made out to seem like it wasn't for mortals. The color theme was purple, making her feel as if she was getting her fortune told. The soft, gentle piano music in the background added some more to the mysterious aura. Sakura believed that even if she were just there for an omelet, she would take hours to finish it. There were heavy curtains covering parts of the large windows in case someone didn't want too much sunlight.

Merely four tables, including hers, were filled; a waiter told her that people preferred to see the city at night. One man was sitting across from her on the other side of the restaurant. An old couple and their son were sitting by the windows. Two tables to their left, and perpendicular to Sakura's table was her target: Bob Herris and Uchiha Sasuke, whose full name was found on the guest list to the 60th anniversary of Macs Inc. There she was, sitting in the left corner of the pinnacle of restaurants, watching the two men eat their lunch. Sakura was asked to snap pictures, record conversations, and write detailed descriptions of the encounter, including a list of what _food_ they were ordering.

_Soon, Kankuro, soon_, she narrowed her eyes as she typed away on her phone. "No one will suspect that you're keeping a log of the men's movements if you do it on your phone," her boss had said. "It'll look like you're one of those people who can't seem to stop SMS-ing."

"The subject is unable to hear the objects' conversation at the moment," she typed before putting it down for a break. She used one hand to grab her cup of tea and the other to scratch her hair, or rather, her wig. Despite having told Kankuro that Uchiha Sasuke never saw her pink hair, he still forced her to put a pile of red on her head.

She watched the two men – Sasuke faced her – point at items on their menus and their waiter jotting down the names. Sakura gave a wave to her waiter, who nodded and approached. "Are you ready to order?" she asked, winking. Kankuro had requested the waiter to cooperate with Sakura's work.

Sakura smiled and flipped through the menu, pausing only to tap her finger at some random dish. "If it's not too much trouble," she said as she pointed at another dish, "could you give me a copy of their printed order?"

"Gladly, Miss," the waiter said, pretending to record what Sakura was pointing at.

"Just in case, send me something cheap so it'd look like I ordered."

"To tell you the truth, there _is_ nothing cheap here, but since it's an exception, I'm sure I can work something out for you."

"Thank you," Sakura whispered and handed her the menu.

She flipped open the phone again; it was 12:45. In another forty-five minutes, The Rosemary would be closing until dinnertime. What could they possibly do? Sakura pondered as she took a newspaper from under the table. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Sasuke was pulling out a folded piece of paper.

"…all set," he was saying to Bob, who accepted the paper.

"And the girl?" Bob's voice was louder. They should be talking about the one from the Leaf, Sakura tried to connect their conversation to the little she knew about them.

"Taken care of."

"You know how to get your job done, don't you, boy?"

"Hn."

_He killed her? _Sakura let out a small gasp of horror. _I thought he was going to spare her…_

"L'omelette provençale," the waiter returned and placed the food in front of her.

"God, you scared me," breathed Sakura.

"Sorry, Miss," replied the waiter. "And this is the cheapest."

She stared at the yellow – golden, almost – omelet, with red and green pepper, and sausage mixed inside. It was glowing, and the aroma made her dizzy with pleasure. "I don't think I want to know the price."

"This dish originates from France, but it's been perfected with the touch of the Rosemary chefs," the waiter explained. "Enjoy, and call me if you need anything else."

Sakura took a bite of the omelet and smiled. She kept her ears opened, though. _And where is that copy of their order? _

"It's hard to trust people when you're me," Bob said, looking out the window. "Even a teenage girl failed me…"

"She simply didn't know the value of life," Sasuke said.

During the next thirty minutes, the two of them rarely conversed with each other. Bob received two phone calls, one of which required him to answer at the counter; Sasuke went to the rest room once, but since the timing didn't match with the phone calls, Sakura didn't think that Sasuke was one of the callers. Unless, of course, he called another person, told him what he wanted to say, and asked the other person to call Bob and deliver the message.

Sakura had finished her food and her stomach was whining. _I brought a gun but not a sandwich,_ she rested her chin in her palm. _Oh, happy, happy day._ She peered at their table and saw that they still didn't have any food on it. Either the kitchen was too slow or -?

"I'm leaving it to you," said Bob. He scribbled something on the piece of folded paper and passed it back to Sasuke.

"Subject wishes she could see what Object #1 wrote on the paper," Sakura typed; Sasuke read the little message and gave a nod as Bob Herris stood up to leave. She pretended to be indulged with a story on leaking pipes in the Mediterranean while Bob made his way past her, using a walking stick to support him. It didn't make him look any less frightening; there was probably a dagger under the big gold handle.

A waiter soon walked up to the table with a maroon box in his hand. Sasuke opened the box and smirked. Sakura bit her lip, watching him send off the waiter and putting the lid back on. He then stood up to leave.

_This was a waste of time,_ Sakura thought and slouched a bit from disappointment. When the man walked by her table, he threw the box at her. "What the -!" she gasped and caught it.

"For your hard work," he said. Sakura felt her head – the wig had slipped off a bit from the impact. Her mouth hung and her body froze as Sasuke walked away. The waiter who was serving Sakura waved her hand in front of Sakura's face with apprehension. "Miss?"

"…What…"

"The, um, copy of their order."

Sakura snapped out of her trance and pulled off the wig. "It took you long enough," she said and snatched the receipt: there was only one item on it. Afraid of what she would find inside, Sakura removed the lid of the box. She felt her temper rise; it was a plate of freshly roasted pork, the dish that was displayed on the receipt –

He had known from the start.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Hehe, and take the time to review, please :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Fury was burning away the pot of logic and reason in Sakura's mind; more and more particles of calm and collection were breaking off the surface of her sanity as rage continued to flare with vigor. Who would condense them back into their cool, placid state? Fire extinguishers were not designed to put out flames of anger. On the other hand, if anyone wanted to burn the test papers they did terrible on, they can call Sakura – _after_ her business with Kankuro is done, that is; didn't their mothers ever tell them not to play with fire?

She stormed down to the 52nd floor from The Rosemary, a maroon box containing untouched roasted pork clutched in one arm. Only one door was visible to her eyes, and only one thought rolled through her mind: how dare that Uchiha chuck food at her as if she was some sort of beggar? Clinging on to the last drops of control in her system, she escaped the urge to kick a hole in the door. Instead, she tried punching, but just lightly.

"Come in," Kankuro's muffled voice said.

Sakura twisted the bronze handle and charged in. Downstairs, a little boy ran into the arms of an old woman from the heavy footsteps. He quavered and muttered something about dinosaurs; the grandma smiled. "Don't worry," she said, petting him on the head. "It's just Barney."

"I hope those are the stomps of triumph," said Kankuro, clapping his hands together in anticipation.

"A – what is _he_ doing back here?" Sakura's mouth hung open at the sight of the man standing beside her boss. His pale complexion blended with his white security uniform. "You _busboy._"

"Sakura-!"

"It's alright, sir," Sai bowed with his smooth and ever so plastic smile. He straightened his back as he turned to face Sakura. "I never left, you see. I was merely deployed to the Y building."

"Huh, so they don't want you there, either?" Sakura sneered, feeling a bit better.

"My heart," Kankuro cut in, "breaks at the thought of you two not snapping at each other's throat, but a good employer always sacrifices. So, Sakura, I'm afraid you'll have to shut up."

"But-"

"_He_ didn't start it."

"He was standing there, _smiling._"

"And being an exemplary guard," said Kankuro. "Which is why I've asked Gaara to send him back. We'll need all the help we can get for the day of the celebration."

"You make it sound like we only have ten people in the security department," Sakura put her free hand on her waist.

"We should 'prepare for the worst and hope for the best.' Isn't that right, sir?" Sai suggested. Sighing, Sakura watched her patience somersault out the window.

"Eh – I was thinking more along the lines of _preventing_ the worst and…Sakura, where is your wig?"

_Burning in hell._

"I gave it away as a tip," she said.

Kankuro tilted his head with raised eyebrows. "What is in that box?"

"Poison," Sakura answered; Sai was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Humor is a hard thing to achieve," Kankuro frowned at the bitter tone of her voice.

"You're right. My real name is actually Pandora, and what I have in here is actually a bunch of demons, monsters, and malevolent spirits, which I will release upon you by _accident_, thus ruling out the possibility of premeditated murder."

"_Miss Haruno_, what is going on?" her boss demanded. "Did the mission fail?"

"It was skinned and dipped in salt, sir," Sakura looked down. "This box – Uchiha Sasuke threw it at me just as he was leaving. It's roasted pork…and after seeing a copy of their receipt, I noticed that it was the only thing they ordered."

"They saw right through us, then," Kankuro whispered.

"We underestimated them, sir."

"Don't you think your disguise is a little too casual" Sai suddenly cut in, his eyes on her shirt and jeans. "After all, it _is_ The Rosemary."

Sakura placed the box down on Kankuro's desk and crossed her arms. "How do you know that I was in The Rosemary?"

"Ah, about that," said Kankuro. "I told him."

"How else could I have found out?" questioned Sai, his smile broadening.

"Miss Haruno," Kankuro stood up before she could say a word. "Sai has also been working on this Herris thing for a few days now. I called him in to discuss your discovery of Uchiha Sasuke's apparent connection with Herris, and he's come up with a reasonable hypothesis as to what they're planning."

"Oh?" Sakura looked over at Sai. "And what might that be?"

Sai gave a gentle nod before speaking. "It's simple; after I did some more background research on him, I'd found a very fitting explanation. But I must say, in all the files I'd read on him, none mentioned the existence of a five-year-old daughter."

"_What?_"

"I doubted the piece of information at first, until I heard him talking about her at the gym over in Y. So after listening in on a few of his conversations, I concluded with this theory –

"The reason Bob Herris is here, and the reason he is meeting some important figures in the business and trading world is," he paused, oddly like Ino, for effect. "He is planning a surprise birthday party for his daughter."

- -

The sun was still blazing outside, but it had set on Haruno Sakura as the 23-year-old plodded back into the depths of the camera room. She had her hopes up; when those ridiculous words came out of Sai's mouth, she felt ten times thinned and believed that the thing to sweep her off her feet would not be a prince, but a fly. Her faith in humankind shook at the laugh of approval from her boss. She walked out on the them the moment Kankuro decided to accept the tape recordings of what could have been scripted conversations as evidence and adjourned the operation on watching Herris. One look, just one look, at the daughter, who could have been a random little girl that Sai asked to take a picture of, and Kankuro's view on a horrible man did a triple flip. "You just can't help but go soft on criminals who have children," was his great ending statement on the matter. Uchiha Sasuke was brushed into the corner with the role of the gift-provider. Was Kankuro's head really as empty and dense as the heads of his beloved puppet friends? Sakura was more disappointed than anything.

She watched the screens for some hint of movement – a distraction, but her faux-TVs had let her down. Her stomach, much like her boss' brilliant mind, had almost nothing inside it. She began to laugh at herself. Why did she get rid of the pork? Right then, a strange idea started wrapping itself around her thoughts: did Uchiha Sasuke foresee this? Did he somehow predict that Sakura would dispose of the dish but regret it later on?

"_For your hard work."_

_Hmph,_ Sakura smiled and leaned back on her chair. _At least he awarded me…_

She turned on her phone and rolled her eyes happily at her wallpaper. It was the screenshot of Sasuke walking into the elevator; she had pretty much Uchiha-nized her cell for the lunch session. Notes, tasks, email drafts, message drafts – anywhere you could text information, she used to record his actions. As a stunt to entertain herself, she had also added him as a contact without a number. _Maybe I'll get it filled one day,_ she thought, looking at the empty number box. _And maybe the birthday too, and all the other stuff in here,_ she flipped through the blank details section. The only thing she had written in was the 'info.'

"He is a rich and (more than) potentially dangerous man. Avoid contact or else. Will also be a bore to ride an elevator with."

_I am so weird,_ Sakura snickered and put the tiny device down. She planned on sleeping and going on silent strike by neglecting her post, which could land her a free ticket to Jobless Wonderland, but the phone rang.

"Ino," she picked up. "You really know how to ruin a good moment."

"What? Oh, whatever," Ino said over a noisy background.

"Is that your life movie's theme song – a garbage truck's honk?" Sakura winced at the high-pitched beep from the other end.

"Say that again? I can't – eek! – hear you! Ugh, I almost stepped on gum," she was whining; Sakura heard a click of a heel. "I spent so much on these babies…"

_This may be a distraction but…_ She sighed and looked at her phone. "Hey, Miss Piggy, where are you?"

"Uh – I – um, Rockae–? I dunno, some street."

"Are you _lost?_"

"No – _no_," she said firmly. "Just telling you that I'm coming over."

"Wha-"

"Ooh, I see the hotel! See you in a sec!"

"I'll wait for two seconds, because it's you. Bye," Sakura said, laughing, and hung up.

To her surprise, Ino did arrive quite soon. Sakura noticed her waiting for the lift to come; she had her hair down in "seduction mode," and she was dressed with _modesty_. One of Sakura's pink eyebrows shot up to her hairline – someone was trying to leave a good first impression. Ino was making a call when the elevator doors opened. She went in with, for some reason, a grumpy expression. After about five floors, Sakura watched Ino fix her long, blond hair at the mirrored wall and then pull out a camera. Sakura felt her other eyebrow go up to join its friend. "Nice view, eh?" she could imagine one asking the other.

Ino pouted her lips, looked upwards, held the camera vertically and snapped a picture. _Yamanaka Ino 'candids',_ Sakura hung her head in defeat. When was her best friend ever going to stop surprising her? Amusing as it was, watching Ino strike flirty poses and taking photos of herself, Sakura couldn't help but envy her. Though her current self esteem was better than it was in her kindergarten days, she still lacked the confidence Ino had. How she wanted to go up to the mirror each day and say, "Hell yeah, I look good" – Sakura always takes a step backwards when she sees her reflection, not because she is repulsed but because she is disappointed. She was floating in that epiphany, lost and unfocused, until the divine elevator ping went off at 48. Who else should enter and make her day but Uchiha Sasuke?

As if every single cell in her body got slapped by a military general, Sakura was instantly alert and energetic. Using her chair, she rolled from one end of the room to the other to retrieve a lost notepad, which had been dumped on the corner of the table since the first day she started the job. The return journey to the elevator screens was short; she put the notepad on top of the red button so she didn't have to push it with her finger the whole time. Just as expected, Ino began to spin her lustful web.

"Hello there," Ino said in a low voice as she flipped her hair back. Sakura crossed her fingers and waited for Sasuke's reaction.

But he had none. He stared at Ino like she had spoken to him in a foreign language for a moment before looking away and checking the bottoms of his shiny leather shoes. Sakura was relieved. She had gotten more works out of him and she didn't even talk to him. Indeed, Uchiha Sasuke was _her_ target.

"…Hm," Ino grunted. She had a confused look on her face. The bewildered expression turned to one that made her seem to be in deep thought. Sasuke inched towards the buttons as soundless as a gliding ghost; Sakura saw him press for 73 – he was originally going to 91. _Interesting…_Sakura thought. Perhaps she could let Ino corner him in a big rectangular box and get some answers. She would tie and chain him to a chair, starve him, and hang a roasted pig over his head. Revenge smells like delicious pork.

The elevator opened on the 73rd floor just when Ino was about to take a bite out of her prey. Sasuke gave a subtle and polite bow on the way out; the Uchiha man didn't go take another elevator. Sakura had no time to see where he went for Ino had stepped out on 75 about ten seconds later.

"Sakura," her voice sounded between the knocks. "Let me in."

"Sorry, but my mother told me not to open the door for strangers," Sakura faked a child-like voice as she put her hand on the handle.

"Teeheehee," came Ino's sarcastic reply.

"That giggle, could it be…? Ino!" Sakura opened the door, gasping.

"I brought cookies," Ino said and walked in.

"And the milk?" beckoned Sakura as she shut the heavy door.

"Cut it out," Ino snapped, putting her bag down. At this point, she was smiling. "Hey, guess what I'm doing later tonight?"

"I don't want to guess. Tell me," Sakura said and sat back down.

"I'm going on a blind date."

Sakura laughed. "You're joking!"

"No, I'm really serious about this…"

"_Why?_"

"Every girl's gotta try it at least once in her life," Ino shrugged and sat on top of the table. She knocked on the screen beside her. "How's stalking people coming along?"

"Better than spending time sending poisonous flowers to an ex."

"It was _one _time, and he didn't even get hurt."

"Yeah, that's because you sent it to his next door neighbor."

"Haruno Sakura, is walking down memory lane with me something you really want to do?" Ino threatened, crossing her legs and leaning in with a glare. "Because I could easily ace a history class about you."

"Too bad they don't offer such a course," Sakura gripped Ino's shoulder to offer her condolences. "That single A would've looked really nice on your report card."

"Sometimes I can't believe I live with you," Ino scowled as she stood up while checking her watch. "I think I'm going to go."

"Now?" Sakura inquired, sounding very sad. "But I hardly get any visitors here."

"You're not supposed to," said Ino, picking up her bag. "Anyway, I'll be at the fancy Japanese restaurant we always gawk at. It's only a block away from here, but the traffic lights always take _so_ long to change."

"Be extra careful!" Sakura got off her chair to say goodbye. "Tell the man I want you back by 11."

"A.M.?"

"_Ino._"

She smiled. "See you later, little stalker."

_Cam-whore,_ Sakura thought, shaking her head as she closed the door once again. She leaned against the cold steel wall and stared at the screens. Watching other people like a fly resting on an orange wasn't as satisfying after a few days. Maybe that's why flies have such short lives – to enjoy living without boredom, and maybe one day her knight in shining fuzz will come and buzz her off the fruit. She frowned; a blob was entering Elevator A, a very familiar blob: going from 91 was none other than Sasuke. He must have taken the stairs from 73. _Do you need to meet with Herris so often if you're just selling a gift?_ Sakura wondered and took her seat. _Stupid Sai and his stupid theories._

She rested her elbow on the button. As expected, Sasuke didn't do anything. "Are you a robot?" she muttered. Her eyes carelessly swept at the buttons. She screamed and jumped up – she had put her elbow on the green one. _Did he hear?_ Sakura was yelling inside and smacking her elbow. Then the fact that Kankuro said he'd delay fixing the mike came to her mind. _Oh, thank god,_ she thought, collapsing on to her chair with relief. For once it paid off to have an irresponsible boss – or did it?

Sakura felt her goose bumps rise as Uchiha Sasuke slowly turned around; his dark eyes were looking straight at her. Without thinking, Sakura put her hands up in the air. Was this it? Was he going to come into her office and slaughter her? But wait, how could he see her? If he saw anything, it'd only be the camera.

"I have a gun," she pounded a fist on the table while the other hand pressed down the green button. "And I'll fight you if I have to, you good-for-nothing, roasted-pork-throwing man."

Either her threat worked or he just plainly didn't hear her. Sasuke's next move perplexed her – he smoother a bump in his hair. Sakura's jaw found a comfortable spot on the floor. Was he just looking at himself in the ceiling mirror, as Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee had done? _Well, pretty boys weren't born that way,_ Sakura pursed her lips, now watching Sasuke fix his tie. At that moment, an idea sparked in her head. She placed the finger over the green button.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she said into the mike; she had to let some of her anger out. But she paused – she couldn't muster any strength to yell at him. She should do it to his face and not behind the protection of a camera screen. She sighed. "You know…you really embarrassed me today. It seems like such a long time ago…why didn't you let the waiter give it to me? I could've figured out that my cover was blown that way."

With one hand in a pocket and his head looking down, he really seemed to be listening.

"But I guess you don't roll like a nice person," she continued to rant at the oblivious man. How awkward would it be if the mike were actually working? "You work for Bob Herris. You 'buy presents for his daughter.' God, this guy who watched the cameras before me, he said that your boss is just planning a surprise birthday party for his five-year-old. An _idiot _wouldn't buy that, but my boss did. They think you're all wonderful, but I know you're bad. Sai might say you pinned the diner waitress against the wall because she got the wrong party dish, and she herself may have claimed that, there has to be something more."

She stopped. Why does there have to be "something more?"

"Unless…you really are –? Hmph, you're toying with my mind again like you did with the pig. You _knew_ I'd regret throwing it away," Sakura grumbled, feeling her stomach. "I still haven't eaten anything…You didn't have anything during lunch either. Did you eat already?"

His elevator was passing the 29th floor.

"I would love to have some umeboshi right now," she said, grinning to herself. Sasuke was checking his watch. "One day, I'll figure out your favorite food. They say a person should know their enemy well."

It was at 15. Sasuke put the other hand in the other pocket.

"If only you weren't evil," Sakura was saying. "You're the type of guy I'd dream about, walking up to me while I sit in a beautiful little park on a sunny day and invite me to go for a walk. An immature thing to think about at my age, but in ten years' time I won't have the privilege to dream. I bet all I'll think about are work, bills, and taxes. It _would _be nice to add a family to that list…"

_Ding._ The elevator door finally opened at B2. Sasuke got off and it was the end of their one-sided heart-to-heart. Sakura stood up and got a good stretch; her spirits had been lifted all thanks to Therapy with Mr. Uchiha.

- -

"Hinata!" she called out. The girl with long purple hair turned around, surprised. Sakura quickened her pace as she strode across the marble floor of the lobby to catch up with her friend.

"H-hi, Sakura," said Hinata. She was out of her maid uniform and into a dress of light lavender; anyone who saw her now could not imagine that she pushed a trolley around all day and announced, "Room service!"

"Are you going to grab some dinner?"

"Yeah…a-are you?"

"Mmhmm," Sakura nodded and pointed across the street as they walked out the door. "The Leaf. Great stuff, cheap prices. Do you want to join me?"

Hinata's natural blush deepened. "May I?"

"I don't see why not," Sakura laughed and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on."

She had been planning to look for the teenage waitress when she got there, but getting to know the new friend of hers was more important – that, and filling her poor stomach. "So, how have you been? I haven't seen you since…" Sakura almost said the time _in_ the elevator, when they had met _out _of the elevator. Revealing to Hinata that she had stalked her with the security camera might be too much. "The, uh – day I bumped into you. 'Hem," she cleared her throat. "That was a nice day."

"Yes, it was," Hinata said brightly as they went in. Sakura scanned the place – quite empty, as it was only 6:15, and the girl was nowhere in sight.

"Let's sit here," Sakura gestured at the table by the window. She could see the glamorous sign of Le Grand Hotel on the other side of the road, shining and glimmering like it lead to the heaven for living humans. She unfolded her napkin and jerked her head at the menus. "Have a look – don't get the spinach and beef spaghetti –" Hinata made a frightened face "– yeah, it sounds gross; the picture makes it look delicious, though. But because it sounds gross, it _is _gross."

"I like it," a voice said from behind her. Hinata looked at the source and blushed. "Who's your friend, Sakura?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," Sakura smiled at her. She turned to look at Naruto, who took the seat beside her.

"You're a lot more pleasant to look at than that Ino," he said and grinned at Hinata. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"You're going to stand up and take our order, aren't you, Naruto?" Sakura cracked her knuckles after Hinata squeaked out a "Nice to m-meet you."

"Good plan," he gulped as he did what he was told. His sheepish expression broke into a grim when he faced Hinata. "As a special first-time offer, you get to order _before_ Sakura and not pay for your food."

"How come I never had that?"

"Because Sakura ordering before Sakura wouldn't make sense, would it?"

"I meant the free food," Sakura's eye twitched; Naruto didn't respond.

"Choose wisely, Hinata. You only have one first-time."

Hinata smiled; this time, her pearly-whites were showing. She was sort of beaming at the menu, too. "I-I think I'll have a, um, medium salad a-and," she looked towards Sakura apologetically. "The spinach and beef spaghetti."

"So wise," Naruto saluted her and scribbled the names down. "Sakura, the usual?"

"…Only if I get a 50 discount for bringing a first-time costumer."

"But that's not profitable…"

Sakura sighed. "It's fine. Just hurry."

She watched Hinata's pale eyes follow him leave, looked away towards Le Grand Hotel, and raised an eyebrow. She had been humiliated by a bad guy, ignored by her sexist boss, abandoned by her best friend, kind of literally talking to a person in a TV screen, denied of a half-priced meal, and now she was going to be a third wheel? _Not my day, today,_ Sakura reckoned.

"Hinata," she said, startling the girl. "Are you attending the Macs anniversary thing the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes, my father asked me to…"

"You're lucky you get to wear a decent dress. Not only do I have to look like a flight stewardess, I also have to act like one."

"I think you look really p-pretty in your uniform," said Hinata in her soft voice.

Sakura drew her hands up to her cheeks. "Hinata, that' so flattering," she said, smiling. Compliments are such fine things.

"About the c-celebration, I think I'm only going to the awards ceremony held on the 50th floor in the X building."

"The Honors Hall? But why aren't you going to the ceiling hall in Y? That's where the true celebration –"

_Bang._

Sakura jumped up. "What was that?"

"I-I think it came from t-there," Hinata stammered, gazing leftward out the window. The other guests in the diner were stirring; some of the women had their arms covering their heads.

A few screams splattered over the noisy but peaceful façade of the streets. When more gunshots were heard, Sakura told Hinata and everyone to stay put. She sprint outside, clutching her revolver behind her back. Many people were running away from the bank a few shops away. She pushed through the frantic crowd –

The sound of shattering glass caught the attention of more people. Sakura started to run again as she watched the shards of glass fall from the second floor of the bank. Her eyes widened with horror when a large SUV zoomed out the gigantic window. On-coming cars screeched to a halt. The black vehicle landed with a crash and Sakura could do nothing but shield her face from the chunks of rubble flying towards her. She heard more yells and screams as she fanned the smoke away. Through the smog, she saw the car picking up speed. She didn't dare to shoot through the confusion, and ran into the road where five cars had formed a circle. She raised her gun, aiming at a tire, but wheeled around when she heard a shriek.

"_Up there!_" a woman from one of the cars jabbed her finger up at Le Grand Hotel.

"Fire!"

"What _happened?_"

"Someone call the ambulance!"

"Get the freakin' firemen!"

"Dear god…"

Sakura staggered back a little. Half way up the hotel was a belt of flame, burning with no mercy above a pool of panic, fear, and faint sirens that were too far and almost too late.

* * *

**Author's note: **This was quite a long chapter (for me). Thanks _so_ much to those who reviewed! I really hope you enjoyed this one as well!

Till next time!


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Th-That's the Honors Hall, isn't it?" Hinata whispered. Her eyes, cheeks, and everything on her that could reflect gleamed of the passionate orange from the fire. Sakura nodded and looked back up at the 50th floor. The flames would be well into their feast by now, munching down on the grand chandeliers, the Mulberry silk curtains, and the fine buffet tables. That enormous chocolate fountain by the stage should be one hell of a treat.

Naruto was running after the customers who decided to "slip out" and see the source of the commotion but "forgot" to go back and pay for their meals. His shouts were only a small tenor in the large choir of screams around them. The Honors Hall was ruined. Sakura watched the water from the hose battle he vicious fire; it looked like a silver thread. More firemen were being escalated into the air. Soon, a few other white lines went up to join their skinny mate. Behind the fire engines came the police cars and their loud sirens. What a wild night at Le Grand Hotel – if it was so chaotic out on the road, Sakura couldn't imagine the state on the _inside_. In the midst of the mishaps at the five-star hotel, the van that flew out from the second floor and the bank robbery blended in with the pavement.

"What should we do?" her shy friend asked.

"Stand here and hope that the fire doesn't burn through the foundation and snap the building in half," Sakura said, feeling sick to the stomach. Guests were evacuated dozen by dozen to Y. They would be fine, but what about the people who lived above 50? Kankuro was on 52, and Bob Herris was on 91. Where did Sasuke live? They couldn't die yet, not until the truth was revealed – if there was one.

Hinata was glancing at the bank now. Sakura did the same and saw an ambulance parked in front of it. "Come one," she murmured, and the two went across the street. Some policemen had halted two medical workers who were carrying a body bag.

"Officer," she began; Hinata was shocked. She thought they were just going to look. "I am Haruno Sakura. I'm a security guard at Le Grand Hotel."

One of the policemen nodded at her. "A couple witnesses were talking about a pink-haired woman with a gun chasing the van. We thought you were a comrade of the culprits who was left behind."

Sakura snorted. Witnesses – ketchup on life's French fries. And the policeman: the only difference between him and her was that he had a _badge_. It was the shiny kind, Sakura observed when he puffed out his chest. "What would give them that idea?" she questioned.

"Ah, you see," the officer pointed at the white body bag. "_This_ was one of their little friends. We don't know how she got shot, but it'll be clear once the security camera footages are ready."

"Sir, we just need one picture," the other policeman was saying to one of the medical workers, who finally agreed and set the body down. He unzipped the bag down to the corpse's collar bone. Sakura drew in a sharp breath when she saw the face. The officer she spoke to turned to her as his colleague took the photo. "Do you – have you seen her before?"

"Yeah…" Sakura said. It was appalling; the girl was still a kid. "She's this teenager that works – worked…at The Leaf," she pointed at the diner. "She looks different without all the make-up though."

It was an irrelevant comment, Sakura realized from the look on the man's face. _In that case…_ She thought as she opened her mouth again, "My friend Naruto works there. He's a blond guy. You can ask him for details about her."

"Sounds good," his partner said. "Shall we go?"

The officer nodded. He turned and, without even looking at Sakura, said, "Thank you for your cooperation."

"_Herris won't spare you…but I will."_

…

"_I delivered the wrong order that he wanted from the leaf."_

The encounter that noon hit her with a pang. "Wait!" she cried out. The policeman looked over his shoulder.

"_Thank_ you, Miss Hotel Security Guard," he called and waved. Then he went on to mumble about guards and how they shouldn't possess guns. If Sakura had a good anything, it'd be good hearing.

"Hmph," she crossed her arms. "Don't listen to the pathetically crucial piece of information I have then."

Hinata tilted her head with curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, _nothing_," Sakura patted Hinata's shoulder.

The ambulance had left and there was not much else to see, so Sakura lead Hinata by the arm back to the other side of the road. They made their way to the foot of the hotel. Sakura was relieved to see that the flames were no longer visible. The ladders were drawn; the fire was probably small enough to be extinguished from the inside of the building. Her temporary happiness vanished when she saw the dark fume rise from the broken windows. The Honors Hall would never be the same. A pitiful loss, she concluded and fixed her eyes on what was in front of her before she could get an aching neck due to too much upwards-staring.

And there he was.

Sakura stopped dead in their tracks. Uchiha Sasuke – he stood in the alleyway between Le Grand Hotel and its neighbor, partially hidden in the shadow. He was looking up at the smoke like it was a masterpiece. As he lowered his face back down, his murky eyes met with her green ones might be more balanced if you put "her green ones" or whatever color Sakura's eyes are. With a smirk, Uchiha Sasuke turned around and faded into the shadows.

- -

"…It was like – he was a _chameleon_," Sakura said, putting a hand on her hip. "I ran after him but he was gone."

Kankuro made a noise that was somewhat of a cough and a sigh at the same time. His office was warm despite the functioning AC. The heat was traveling from the floor; it felt like being on the track after a storm and the sun was out. Her dear boss couldn't open the windows to liberate the leftover heat from last night's fire – he'd be opening the _wall._

"Miss Haruno, although I think it's unnecessary, and I'd much rather have you focus on the celebration tomorrow," he loosened his tie, "but I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on Uchiha and Herris."

At least Sai wasn't there to flood Kankuro's mind with absurd ideas.

"I'm glad you don't object to my," she paused as her mind protested the use of the word, "'unnecessary' precautions, sir."

"One must keep his underlings happy, wouldn't you say so?" he chuckled to himself. "Alright, if you have nothing more to report, you may go back to work."

"Yes, sir," Sakura sighed.

She gently closed the door behind her and walked down the hall. It still smelled burnt. The elevators stood before her; they weren't affected by the fire. Sakura waited for the ding and when the doors opened, she stepped in. To her surprise, there was someone else in there. That fur coat, roundness, and the cat in her hands – it was Madam Shijimi. _Awkward…_ Sakura smiled out of politeness as she reached for the buttons. Tora's loud hiss scared her and caused her to press 72 instead of 75. She gulped. _20 more floors to go._

After what seemed like a couple eternities of the ma'am eyeing her bony figure and the cat scratching at the coat, the elevator stopped. Sakura flew out; she wanted to kiss the carpet, but god knows what and who had stepped on it. She looked to her left. About fifty meters to the left of where she stood, on the wall on the right, there was an opening. Sakura marched towards it; she knew where it lead to: the glass bridge.

No one was around. Sakura sat down with her legs crossed, her back leaning against the transparent wall. Glass could be pretty strong, she noted, smiling. She stretched; if she could shout with all her might, she would. She was so high above the ground. There were times that she had poked her head out the window on the 99th floor, pondering about the feeling of jumping from it. Those thoughts weren't suicidal; it'd just be cool to fall from an insanely high place, and, right before she landed and turned into a bloody, mushy pulp, fly back up. Dreams, they were – mere dreams. Still, Sakura was very fond of self-discovering and self-bonding moments like that. Romantic reason or not, connecting the two buildings was a genius move.

- -

Sakura folded the wet towel and put it on the chair. She picked up her hairbrush while she checked the time. It was 7:30 PM. She got back around 45 minutes ago to find an empty apartment with a matching empty fridge. Ino wasn't home, her cell phone wasn't on, and Sakura was worried that she might get mad if Sakura ate without her. However, her stomach begged to differ. Maybe she could order pizza, but then she would have to wait.

As she was brushing her wet hair and wrapped in fantasies of exotic delicacies, the front door opened. "Ino, is that you?" she called when she heard the clinking of keys.

"Yeah –"

"_Good,_ 'cause I haven't eaten yet," Sakura whined and left her room. She smoothed her bathrobe and walked down the narrow hall. "Did you happen to buy anything? Please say yes!"

"Um, um, um – I got chips," Ino shook the plastic bag in her hand. "And yogurt."

"Did you get milk? We're out of milk," Sakura grabbed the bag and dug through it. "Actually, we're kind of out of everything. Our fridge is just a cold box."

"You," said Ino as she turned on the TV, "are so needy."

"And hungry. This is so unhealthy, but I guess it'll have to do," Sakura said, pouting at her dinner, which consisted of a bag of chips (original flavor) and two packs of yogurt (also original flavored, though she could not see how yogurt could taste "original"). "I'm going to eat in the bedroom."

"Sure, attract ants, why don't you?"

Rolling her eyes at the bitter tone in her best friend's voice, Sakura returned to the room. Although there were two bedrooms in the small apartment, Ino didn't want to occupy one on her own; she wanted to gossip before going to sleep. Hence, her bed was by the wall and Sakura's was placed horizontally in front of the window. In fact, Ino was most garrulous after the lights were switched off and when they were snuggled up under the bed sheets. The darkness made their bedtime chats extremely exciting. The chats were, no matter how much she hated the fact, Sakura's guilty pleasure. Either way, it didn't change Sakura's wish on having two bathrooms and one bedroom instead of two bedrooms and one bathroom. Her battles with Ino for the bathroom in the morning were rather tiring.

She licked her fingers and crumpled up the bag of potato chips. The noise from the TV had stopped in the living room. Half a minute later, Ino stomped in.

"I'm bored."

Sakura stared at her. "How can I help?"

Ino fell flat onto the bed with a big groan.

"Hard day at work?" Sakura asked and lied down.

"Mmhmm…" Ino sighed into the pillow.

"It was murder. Nothing happened," she sighed. "But that's probably good."

"Your hotel doesn't need anymore trouble after that fire, does it?"

"I don't know why, Ino," Sakura whispered, hugging her cushion close to her chest "I think there's more trouble coming."

"Sakura –"

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," Sakura got up to the door and placed her hand on the light switch. "You can stay or leave."

Ino pulled up her sheet. "Turn it off."

The room turned black as she said that. The city lights were visible though their window. Before Sakura drew the curtains, she admired the view. Despite the little glitch in the number of bathrooms, the apartment was quite nice.

"So, Sakura –"

It was the start of their _chat_.

"Ino, I will only say one thing."

"…What?"

"I saw your boyfriend in the elevator today. Through the camera, I mean."

"My boyfriend? What boyfriend?"

"Shikamaru."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Uh-huh."

"…What was he doing?"

"Good night, Ino."

"Sakura!"

"Good. Night."

- -

"You look awful," Temari said, her nose scrunched up.

"Appreciate the compliment," Sakura mumbled, rubbing her eye.

They were in the Employee Break Lounge; Sakura was fixing some hot chocolate and Temari, her coffee. Her Super Boss was correct about her appearance. She looked like a stack of pink hay mixed with the wrinkled whiteness that was her uniform. After the itsy-bitsy revelation last night, Ino made sure she didn't get over three hours of sleep. It was one in the afternoon and the Macs 60th anniversary celebration would start at six. Kankuro had reminded her and her colleagues again and again of the importance of leaving good impressions. _I've failed you, Boss,_ she thought, stirring her drink.

"I would take a nap, wash my face, and put on some make-up if I were you," Temari suggested as she put back the cream container for the coffee.

"Thanks for the advice."

Temari frowned. "By the way," she said as she approached the door, "I'd work on that attitude of yours – for the sake of our hotel. You know, the place where you work at. I'll see you at the party."

"I will, I will," Sakura sighed and ogled at the milky brown liquid in her cup.

She waited a few minutes before leaving. The animosity from the frightened guests because of the fire yesterday had faded as the festive atmosphere of the celebration took over. Several important figures had already arrived, Sakura noticed as she passed the lobby. Kurenai, the other manager, was attending to them. Though she couldn't hear them, she knew that they were talking about the ruined Honors Hall. Both the ceremony and the party would have to take place on the top floor of the Y building.

Sakura looked away from her smiling manager and went into the elevator. During the whole ride she only thought of the cause of the fire. The firemen found a burned corpse in the hall. It was one of the hotel securities who was sent to stand guard for the night. Experts were called in to analyze the situation. They discovered a cigarette under the body, which was facing down, and deduced that the fire was started by the cancer stick; it must've fallen onto the floor when the guard dozed of.

_Ding._

The elevator had reached the 75th floor. Sakura got off and began walking towards her office. She felt angry that Temari and Kurenai believed the explanation and announced it to everyone. They didn't want to give the customers any more reasons to be startled. For once, Kankuro was on the right track to suspect that something else had started the fire. After all, the guard who died wasn't a smoker.

Sasuke's satisfactory smirk after the fire strongly hinted that something was up. Sakura wished she could find out something about it before the celebration to prevent whatever was going to happen. Her heart sank, however, when she still didn't catch any suspicious movements on the screens after a couple hours had passed. She kept checking the elevators; of course _nothing_ would go on in there. What could the evil guys do – put a bomb in the lift?

She checked her watch – 5:30 PM. _I should probably get ready soon,_ she thought as she tried smoothing a strand of hair that stuck out. Sakura was reaching into her purse for her pocket mirror when she saw two people enter an elevator. The bag fell on to the floor as she leaned forward to the screen. _Shikamaru and Ino…_ From the look of their formal attire, they seemed to be heading to the celebration. Sakura shook her head at her best friend. _"He's not my boyfriend!" Oh, Ino, it can't be opposite day forever. _

Because of sighting Shikamaru the previous day, Sakura barely slept a wink and fathomed the fact that his teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, was going to propose to Kurenai at the party. It was too much excitement; Sakura had to go see for herself.

- -

Reality never lived up to anticipation – Sakura was well aware of that. When she made Naruto go dance with Hinata, she never meant for him to give her his plate. At first the piece of silverware was delightful, since it kept Sakura company, but when teamed up with her white uniform, it was a disaster. Madam Shijimi was the third person to put her champagne glass on the tray.

Sai passed by earlier. "And you call _me_ a busboy," he had said with a smug face.

Meet Sakura's optimism: a deflated balloon.

"Can you take this for me?"

Sakura's eye twitched when another person set her cup on the platter. "Yes," she said through gritted teeth. She glanced at the woman and raised an eyebrow. "Ino?"

She grinned. "Sorry, I just love the expression on your face when someone puts their glass on the platter."

"This jeopardizes our friendship," Sakura glared.

"Geez," Ino took her drink back. "I wasn't finished with it anyway."

"Any idea where I can get rid of this thing? Naruto got it for _food_."

"Well, there's the food table."

"My smartness is rubbing off you," Sakura smiled. "Now, come with me. We can get something to eat."

They avoided the waltzing crowd in the middle of the hall. A fountain was at the center; she wouldn't mind throwing a coin in it, but Sakura didn't think she could get through all the happy couples. Love was very powerful.

After the silver platter was returned, Sakura was pumped up to enjoy the party. But when Ino left to find Shikamaru, all the air from her balloon leaked out again. She decided to leave the cheerful room and go back to check the screens.

The elevators in the Y building were identical to the ones in X. She went down to the 72nd floor, crossed the bridge, and climbed up to 75. She kept her fingers crossed for another boring night; at least it would be peaceful and safe.

Sakura's hands turned cold as the doors to Elevator A opened – a lot seemed to go on in that elevator. It was no one special, though. He was just a boy wearing a red suit and holding a tube of hair gel. Not to her surprise, he began fixing his brown hair. _People, we have mirrors in the bathrooms for a reason,_ she thought. The strange thing was, however, he was using tons of it, like he was in a hurry to empty the tube. He pulled out his phone.

"Hello?" he said just as Sakura had pressed the red button.

There was a pause as the person on the other line spoke.

"What floor are you on?" he asked.

The other person took his or her sweet time talking.

"43? Alright," he said and hung up. _Not even an "I love you?"_ Sakura frowned. Maybe it wasn't his secret lover. He then pressed 43, which caused Sakura to deepen her frown; when he entered on the 5th floor, he had pressed 89.

Once he had reached the 43rd level, Sakura gasped. Waiting outside the door was Uchiha Sasuke. The boy glared at him on the way out and hissed, "I am _not_ afraid."

Sasuke smirked and walked in. The elevator doors shut, and he reached to press 72. The elevator was passing 49 when he took out _his_ phone.

_I thought the reception was _dreadful_ in elevators,_ Sakura blinked as the man dialed some numbers.

The recipient picked up. Sasuke put his free hand in his pocket and said, "Mr. Herris, sir, they are ready."

At the mention of the evil man's name, Sakura dared not move a muscle. This might be the thing to ruin the night.

Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror. "Yes, the bombs are set to go off at 11:27."

Sakura rose slowly from her chair with her mouth hanging open; for the slightest second, she swore that he had glanced at the reflection of the camera.

- -

"Kankuro!" Sakura cried, bursting through his office doors. Her boss got up from his couch, alarmed. There were a few people sitting with him, including Kiba and Sai. The representative of Macs, Madam Tsunade, was also present.

"Miss Haruno, what's the matter?"

"Bob Herris and Uchiha Sasuke, they –"

"Not this again," Kankuro sighed. "We have a guest right now, so why don't you come back later?"

"Don't you have glasses of wine to attend to?" Sai asked; Sakura ignored him.

"Boss, you don't understand."

"Oh, don't I?" he shook his head and turned to Tsunade. "Ma'am, I'm terribly sorry."

"No, it's quite fine," Tsunade waved a hand. "Let her say what she has to say."

"Well, Miss Haruno?" Kankuro looked at her expectantly. Akamaru gave a bark of approval.

"They," Sakura paused to try and calm herself down, "have _bombs_ installed in the hotel."

Kankuro fell back into his seat. Kiba tried to laugh it off. "Sakura," he began. "That's – you can't be serious."

"I _am_. I heard Sasuke confirm it."

"To you?" Sai questioned.

"Uh – n-no…"

Kankuro sighed once more. "Don't be ridiculous," he smiled at Tsunade. "Ma'am, I assure you what she said is not true."

Sakura couldn't believe it. "Why would I kid about explosives?"

"Let's say you're not kidding then –"

"I'm not."

"Okay, okay, but let's just say they – Herris and Uchiha – did put bombs in this highly secured hotel."

"I don't think they themselves put the bombs in," Sakura said, recalling the boy in the red suit.

Kakuro was silent. Sai stepped forward and said, "If you're so positive, then tell us _where_ the bombs are."

"Excellent question, Sai," Kankuro nodded. Sakura secretly agreed. The Uchiha man didn't reveal the location of the bombs before he got off the elevator.

"Sakura?" Kiba called out to her.

"They…I…" she licked her lips. She was stalling; time was ticking away. "I didn't hear."

Kankuro snorted. "What else didn't you hear? The time that it goes off at?"

"No, that I did hear."

"It doesn't matter," Kankuro stood up. "Stop this nonsense now."

"Boss, please, I've never been more serious," Sakura whispered, her nails digging deep into her palms.

"So you stand by your little piece of info then?"

"_Yes._"

Kankuro rubbed his temples. "You leave me with no choice then – all the trouble you've caused…"

"…Boss?" Sakura did _not_ like where this was going –

"Haruno Sakura, you're fired."

– not one bit.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Uh-oh! What's Sakura going to do? Next chapter, Sasuke and Sakura will actually _have_ some interaction.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :) And sorry for not updating in a long time. Hope you liked the chapter!


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 6  
**

There were so many questions Sakura could've asked – are you kidding me; who are you and what have you done to my generally merciful boss; and, if I'm fired then who will make sure the bombs are stopped? It was like facing a multiple choice question. Only one could be chosen, and out came, from her quavering mouth, a soft, shaky "Why?"

"Because there are limits, Miss Haruno, and you broke them," Kankuro stated. "Sai will take your job from now on –"

"Wha– no –"

"The keys, please," Sai held out a hand, "to the camera room."

"Enough already," said Kankuro. "Kiba, please escort Miss Haruno out."

The door shut behind them. Sakura saw her ex-boss lean to talk to Lady Tsunade and Sai's smug face right before the mahogany wood cut off her view. With Akamaru between them and wagging his tail, Sakura and Kiba made their way to the elevators, where they waited for the one that was coming up from the 22nd floor.

"You know," Kiba said, tucking his hands behind his head. "You're probably better off elsewhere."

"We'll see," Sakura managed to smile. "At least it makes sense now, Kankuro's inability to call me by my first name. He never liked me much, did he?"

"He called you Sakura just now, before the – uh…"

"Bomb threat?" Sakura asked. If she had a chance to do it all over again, she'd rather dedicate a shrine to Sai than warn Kankuro.

"Bomb – yeah, no," Kiba ruffled his hair.

_Ding._

"Ah, my ride's here," Sakura sighed and stepped in.

"Sakura…the bombs…"

"Don't worry about them," she assured as she pressed 72.

Kiba reached out to stop the elevator doors from closing. "Stay in touch, okay?" he grinned; Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I'm not _going_ anywhere, Kiba," Sakura laughed.

"Right, Kankuro never told me to kick you out of the hotel."

"Even if he did, you still wouldn't," Sakura said; Kiba shrugged and let go of the doors. "See you around."

_Should I manage to get rid of the exploding pipes of evil,_ she completed the sentence in her head. Back to the questions – how _would_ she stop the bombs? Who was going to help her? She had no idea where the explosives were; they could be anywhere and everywhere. The best and quickest solution Sakura came up with from 52 to 72 to cross the bridge and then head to the ceiling party room was to find Uchiha Sasuke. She paused at the entrance and scanned the crowded hall – to find one man in all of that…

Sakura checked her wristwatch. She adjusted her hat and took in a big breath. There were three more hours to go.

- -

"Naruto," she yanked at the blond's sleeve. "Have you seen a guy–"

"Of course I have! But that doesn't mean anything, I just see them and –" he shut himself up by stuffing a cupcake in his mouth. "Oo er faying?"

"I was saying, have you seen a guy that's taller than you, pale, has raven hair –"

"Yeah…_yeah_, he's the real cocky one," Naruto grumbled. "He took the last of the roasted chicken."

"That's him," Sakura rolled her eyes. The man sure liked his barbeque. "When was that? Do you know where he went?"

"Uh – it was, I dunno, a couple minutes ago."

"At the food tables?"

"Yeah. Why? Who is he?"

"Just be glad you didn't spit in his face," Sakura patted Naruto's back and took one of the funky little yellow crackers on his platter. It tasted pretty bad. "On second thought, be glad _he_ didn't throw the meat at you."

Compared to before she left and got fired, the place was much more packed. Sakura wished that she could've paid attention to the physical descriptions in Sasuke's file, like his height. His weight might come in handy – she could get all the guests line up and weigh them one by one. Maybe she would add a few pounds for the roasted chicken he stole from Naruto. You'd think a young, handsome boy would be easy to spot in a sea of "big-boned" middle-aged rich ladies, wealthy bald-headed men with big bellies, obnoxious children of the loaded and their gold-digging significant others. He probably belonged to one of the categories – the second to last group, most likely. Sakura wondered if he had a girl as she plowed through everyone; the absence of a serious girlfriend could explain his bitterness, though.

She borrowed the shoulder of a rather drunk man next to her and went on her tippy-toes. Sakura spied with her little eyes something blond and made of best friend material by the sandwiches. Figuring that Ino would remember seeing the man who cold-shouldered her in an elevator for the second time, Sakura approached her.

"You look sad. Why is that?" Sakura nudged her skinny pal.

"Shikamaru bailed on me," Ino gave an indifferent pout, as if it was no big deal. _As if._

"Then bail on the party that he bailed on you at," her green eyes twinkled.

"…Good idea," Ino nodded, putting her usual confident façade back on. "You wanna join me?"

"I'm the goody-two-shoes, remember?" Sakura stuck out her tongue. There was nothing more that the girl wanted than leaving with Ino, but – what a terrible word – she had to stay. "Sorry, I really am, Ino. And I think there's a Spiderman marathon showing around 10."

"Spiderman? _Spiderman?_ I don't want to watch _Spider_man."

"Don't lie to yourself. Now go, I'll be back as soon as you call me to confirm that you've finished with the first one."

"Like at midnight? Why don't you want to watch the first one?" Ino inquired, narrowing her eyes as she resisted Sakura's push.

"Because I don't want to see the graveyard. Do you have any idea how many times I've seen that scene on the airplane?"

"Excuses, excuses. Alright, I'm going. Later!"

And Miss Yamanaka swayed her hips all the way out. Sakura giggled. At least she evacuated one person. Instead of searching for Sasuke, she felt that she should chase Hinata and Naruto away, too, before it was too late. Yet a fragrance caught her nose, Sakura was as good a smeller as she was a listener. She would make a "nosy" pun to herself, but – ah, and here it is again – it was not the right time. Her eyes soon found themselves staring at the source of the smell: tomato soup. She reached for the soup ladle; however, another hand beat her to it. Sakura looked up. There, in all his stoic glory, stood Sasuke.

"Go ahead," Sakura drew back her hand and said.

He accepted the ladle and took a scoop. Sakura watched him closely as he poured the gooey redness into a bowl. She thought he was the quintessence of un-chivalry until he handed her the soup. After the bowl was safe in Sakura's palms, Sasuke filled another for himself.

"Cheers," he muttered and drank up.

Sakura freaked out. "Uh, sir, what –"

"You're a security guard here?" he asked without looking at her. "We met the other day. In the stair way?"

She pretended to think real hard. "I think so. And yeah, I…work…here," she said. If he knew that she was fired, who knows what would happen? Why was he chatting with her anyway?

"You tailed me in The Rosemary. Why is that?"

The sour soup made her wince. "Because it's my job," answered Sakura.

Sasuke took his time trying to continue the odd conversation they were having. _Well_, Sakura thought. _I found him. He's here. Now what?_

"Uh…" Sakura stammered and his eyes were fixed on to her. "What exactly do you want?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied while refilling the bowl with soup. He was no longer looking at her. "Many things."

Another beautiful response; Sakura slouched a bit. Out of the corners of her eyes she checked the time. Then she had a thought. This talk she was having wasn't going anywhere, obviously. Was he stalling her? She narrowed her eyes at the man; he was staring from place to place. _You think you got me, don't you?_

Sakura was about to leave when he opened his mouth. "Good party," he said.

"Look, I would be happy to keep you company…" she stopped. He was looking at her again.

"You…" he had on a smile for a mini-second. "You should do the right thing."

It was déjà vu as he walked away. Sakura gazed down at the bowl he left on the table – it was half empty. The right thing? Who was he to tell her to do the right thing? What _was_ the right thing – saying no to drugs? Sakura found it hard to breathe as she realized that time was scarce. She could almost hear the timer on the bombs ticking away.

The desperate pair of green eyes looked around. She saw Hyuuga Neji dancing with a pretty brunette – Tenten, probably. They just celebrated their 5-month anniversary; Sakura recalled the moment Neji was in the elevator. Near them was Rock Lee. He was dancing off beat – getting groovy with his own tune. Her smile widened at the sight of Madam Shijimi. When the lady bumped into the couple behind her, Tora escaped from her. "Some one catch my baby!" she was crying as she shoved people out of her way. Sakura squinted her eyes. The couple Madam Shijimi hit was Kurenai and Asuma. _Has he proposed yet? _Sakura wondered.

All these people – their lives would come to an end if the bombs weren't stopped. There would be no 6-month anniversary for Neji and Tenten. Sakura wouldn't be able to tell Lee about the action-packed job she would get in the future. Tora would be caught and never to escape again. And even if Asuma already proposed, there would be no wedding.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the mike. She looked to the stage. It was Temari.

"Good evening, everyone," Temari greeted. _No more donuts from my boss,_ Sakura thought. "Um," the hotel manager continued. She sounded nervous for some reason. "I want to announce something. But first, thank you all for coming. Hope you're having a great time."

There was laughter in the crowd.

Temari smiled. "I have to say, I've been _itching_ to tell this to everybody –" she paused and the audience fell silent. "– I am engaged!"

_Damn it, Temari,_ Sakura bit her lip as the ring was flashed. She turned and saw the bowl of soup once more. It looked to be half full this time. She _had_ to stop the bombs. Neji and Tenten _would_ spend more months together, many, many more; Rock Lee _would _hear about her new job, and maybe get dance lessons; Tora _would_ get the chance to run away; and there _would be_ a wedding, for both Kurenai and Temari. Somewhere between the name of Temari's fiancé and Asuma getting on stage to reveal his and Kurenai's good news, Sakura suddenly knew what to do and raced out.

- -

She never thought that she would face the cold metal door again. Sakura knocked and checked her watch for what seemed to be the millionth time that night. It was 9:21. Two more hours.

"What do you want?" Sai asked, peeking out from inside her old office.

"Many things," Sakura found herself quoting Sasuke; Sai raised an eyebrow. "Just – step aside."

"You know I'm not supposed to let non-staff people come in," he said, closing the door.

"What about ex-staff people?" she asked as she tried rewinding the tape on the camera of Elevator A. "I'm going to give you _evidence_ that – did you switch the tape?"

"Yeah. The old one's in that box over there," Sai pointed to the corner.

"So that's what you do to all my hard work," Sakura sighed. She walked to the box and began digging. "Where's the one from 6-8 tonight? I need the clip at around a quarter past seven."

"The one with Uchiha Sasuke on the phone?"

Sakura terminated her search and stared at Sai. "Yeah. Did you…watch it?"

"How else would I know the contents?" Sai questioned. "Anyway, I already showed it to Kankuro."

"Sai, this is _not_ like you!" Sakura exclaimed with glee. "What did Kankuro say?"

"The bad news is that you're not getting your job back. But yes, he believes the bomb thing now. Police are on their way."

"And Sasuke? Do you know where he is?"

"Yes," Sai nodded.

"What about the boy in red?"

"Arrested him just now. I think Kiba did. They're interrogating him about the locations of the bombs."

"So –"

"Save your questions for later," he said as he sat down in the rolling chair – her rolling chair.

"I paid for that you know," Sakura tapped at the leather. "One more question."

"Answering is an option, correct?"

"Is Bob Herris still in the hotel?"

"…Yes. Kankuro asked the police to 'lay low,' so they won't disturb Herris, or else the guy will escape."

"Looks like they listened," Sakura gave a sigh of relief as she saw a dozen police cars and one van pull up in front of the hotel main entrance. It must have taken a lot of self-control for them to not park all over the place and make a scene. Bob Herris' hotel room faced the other side, so as long as he was in it, he wouldn't know a thing. The armed men marched in and the lobby camera took over.

"Do you need anything else?" Sai's dull voice chopped her concentration into pieces. "I prefer to work alone."

"I will leave as soon as I get my bag," Sakura said. She took it and walked out. She'd imagined that her goodbye would be a glorious one when she replaced Kankuro, but that would never happen.

Everyone would be safe; was this the "right thing?" Sakura's thoughts kept drifting from the plans of her future to Sasuke as she changed out of her uniform in the bathroom. She almost wanted to show him some gratitude for calling Herris at the right moment. Her hands trembled while she combed her hair – she needed to see Sasuke before he got arrested.

- -

_Ding._

Sakura made a face at the camera before exiting Elevator B; Sai was watching, there was no doubt about it. _Please still be in the Y building,_ she crossed her fingers and darted through the hall of the 72nd floor. Her steps slowed down when she caught sight of a couple policemen standing at the opening to the glass bridge.

"Miss, you shouldn't be here," one of them held up a hand as she got closer.

"I," she inhaled deeply. "I'm staff."

"Oh yeah, the security guard," another stepped forward to get a better look. It was the officer she talked to on the night of the fire.

Sakura nodded. "Did you –"

They all looked to the other side. Held between a bunch of police with a pair of handcuffs on his wrists was Sasuke. Sakura followed the other cops to meet the guys coming their way. Walking to the end of a plank would have been less stressful than what she was facing. The heavy tension could cause the bridge to collapse; a fall from 72 might hurt. Both sides stopped in the middle. Sakura stared down – how pretty. All the shimmering lights and the glittery fountain right below…

"Miss, you should leave this to the," that snob of a police said, "_officials._"

'I'm afraid I don't see any here," Sakura glared.

"We have more cuffs. Should you wish to join Mr. Uchiha, just say so."

On a good day, Sakura would've smacked him and stormed away muttering curses. Yet she chose to step aside. Sasuke passed by her, their shoulders brushed against each other – or at least Sakura's shoulder and Sasuke's upper arm, considering their height difference. She blinked and they were no longer touching; that's when he bent down and whispered in her ear.

– They left –

She sank down onto the transparent floor, her eyes reflecting the red and blue flashes from the police cars. It somehow made sense all of a sudden. She was not the hero. Sai called minutes after they – he – were out of her sight. Bob Herris was arrested; the red boy spilled the rotten beans. That wasn't what snapped, though. Perhaps Sai _was_ a better security guard than her. It wasn't really a woman's job anyway. Sakura would live with the fact that Sai was happier to work at the dreadful hotel. What she almost couldn't live with was when Sai told her that the mikes worked. Leave it to Kankuro to fix the problems behind his employee's back. So the Uchiha man heard her therapy session with him – big deal.

Her hand, shaking, reached up to grab her left shoulder. She could feel the graze over and over again. The Uchiha man knew she was watching him; Sai the all-mighty had checked the phone records, and no calls were received in Herris' suite during the time Sasuke was talking on his cell. Uchiha Sasuke was either delusional and pretended to have been speaking to Bob or he did it on purpose. The vicious pork-throwing villain warned her. _Talk about subtlety…_

The handcuffs on him should be elsewhere. It was what Ino would call a fashion faux pas – a very big one for the strange hero-like man.

Her phone began to vibrate. Sakura grunted at the caller when she picked up. "Ino…what is it?"

"Oh, you know, it's like midnight."

"That's past 11:27 isn't it?" Sakura put her hand over her mouth.

"No idea."

And the tears came, flowing like little streams. The bombs were stopped. She just had to remind herself that everybody was alive. "W-Why are you calling?" she asked, trying to sound normal.

"Just to say that there wasn't a Spiderman marathon. Shikamaru checked."

"…Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, um, see, I never went home."

Sakura sniffled and frowned. "_What?_"

"I'm in the café on the first floor of the hotel right now."

She didn't go. Her best friend didn't leave. Sakura tried to suppress her sob. Ino had been in the danger zone the whole time.

"Sakura? Are you crying?"

"I _told_ you to go back!"

"But Shikamaru was – ugh, the idiot just went to get chips. Can you believe that your hotel's party doesn't have chips? No, actually, did you even know that Shikamaru ate chips? I mean – Sakura…why are you _crying_? I only missed a non-existent Spiderman marathon…don't get your panties in a bunch."

Ino went on to discuss her little café date. Sakura dried her tears and responded every so often with an "uh-huh." Everyone got to live. She wanted to return the three words he whispered to her, the words that comforted her when her best friend's innocent disobedience could not. All that Ino had said warped into the words, and echoed on in her ear – just a while ago, Sasuke's moving lips had been inches away from it, and an even longer while ago, she was drinking tomato soup with him…

"_Sakura…Thank you."_

* * *

**Author's note: **Yeah...so, I basically redid the Thank You scene. :( Kishimoto needs to put more SasuSaku in the manga...It's been a long time since my last update; I hope you liked reading this chapter! Please leave a review :)


	8. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Epilogue**

…_You raise me up: To more than I can be._

Her eyes shut as the lyrics penetrated her ears. She tapped a foot to the slow, powerful rhythm of the song while re-opening the windows to her soul. It was a Saturday like any other, except this morning, Sakura was once again a woman with a job. If someone were to come up and ask her about the utopia in her mind, she would refer to the very moment she was enjoying in the cozy city – an oasis in the desert of urban life. There was soft sunlight that kept her feeling fuzzy inside, warm breezes that played with her neatly trimmed hair, green trees that cast the perfect amount of shade over her, and a gorgeous melody that traveled into her auditory canals – oh, why were clichés so wonderful? Miss Haruno had a job too, and it's only been a month since she got fired. She would be a nurse starting in one week. Her new boss, a woman resembling a great deal of Mac Inc's Lady Tsunade, had joked with her and claimed that the clinic's patient rate would go up as soon as news of a beautiful young nurse spread. On Wednesday, Ino and she would finally get done unpacking in their house. She never found out how Ino got the money for the place. From Shikamaru? _Don't ask the obvious, Sakura,_ the 22-year-old smiled to herself.

She didn't want to admit something, though, and it was far more obvious than the little uh-huh between her best friend and Sir Pineapple Head: she was alone, all by herself in the sweetest park. It was just her and the wooden bench she was sitting on –

– Until he showed up.

"No tomato soup today?" she asked him as she took her earphones out.

Sasuke frowned a bit but his face soon dawned with comprehension. "Unfortunately."

"…So…you're out of jail already?"

"I never got in."

"You mean you weren't –?" Sakura stared at the man before her. He looked healthier.

"I made bail," Sasuke explained. "But my trial starts in a week."

"Hope they'll be nice to you."

"Hn," he said, stuffing his right hand in his pant pocket. "They'll have to."

Sakura scoffed. "Why is that?"

"They want me to testify against Herris."

"Will you?"

"Don't see any reason not to."

Sakura shifted to the right side of the bench and patted the space beside her. "You should sit down."

"Actually," Sasuke walked up. "I was thinking we could go for a walk."

She smiled and bounced right up. The man just confirmed that he was listening to her therapy session. "I _have_ been sitting for too long," she said, stretching. "Let's go."

Their fingers intertwined moments after they began the stroll – one that would last from 10am to 4pm. Neither of them acknowledged this physical contact out loud; deep inside, they were conscious of it but didn't mind at all. It felt like something they'd been doing for a long, long time. Who knows how many more times they will walk down the same path? However big that number will be, each time will be just as delightful as the first one.

- -

"And that is how lasting relationships begin," God rubbed his chin with pride. He glanced up from the viewing board. "Are you learning from this, Cupid?"

"Of course, my Lord," said Cupid, bowing his head.

"How does it feel to witness a romance that you did not create?"

"Well, to be honest, it was going to happen. You, my Lord, simply made it appear sooner."

"Is that so?" God leaned forward, curious. "What did you originally plan for them?"

"It – um, so, Sakura would've just finished her lunch – _onion_ rings – at The Leaf, and she's on her way back to the hotel," Cupid paused and adjusted his arrows. "Then, while waiting for the elevators, she stutters right in Sasuke's face. For once, it's not her hair that leaves the impression."

God sighed. "Next time you're about to aim, inform me."

His eyes went back to the viewing board. "_Look_ at that eye contact…"

One day, the two would return to him, God knew. But he had to wait. Till the moment Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura came back, he would wait. Before that, however, God needed to start planning _their_ future.

"Cupid, before you go…"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"…How many kids do you think they should have?"

* * *

**FIN**

* * *

**Author's note:** Wasn't that short? And the prologue wasn't useless after all! By the way, you all read the latest Naruto chapter right? Ahh, it really motivated me. It made me squeal and squeal...See, Kishimoto, a little SasuSaku-ness didn't hurt. :D Well, it's done. Hopefully you enjoyed it! I know I did. Hehe...leave a review if you can!

See you in my next fic?


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